David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" stormed to the top of the North American box office Wednesday with a solid $58.4 million in ticket sales.

The sixth installment in the popular series already scored $22.2 million from midnight runs early Wednesday, the best ever midnight start.

The film also passed the $44 million opening day gross by "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix." "Half-Blood Prince" officially hit theaters Wednesday and is currently playing at 4,275 locations.

In the sequel, Harry Potter explores the dark past of Voldemort while the forces of the Dark Lord create further terror at Hogwarts and in the world of muggles.

Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman and Jim Broadbent star, among others. Read our review right here.

Source: Variety

David Yates' "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" delivered a fantastic debut early Wednesday by scoring $22.2 million from 3,003 midnight shows.

Yes, that means the sixth installment in the "Harry Potter" series set a new midnight screening record. Even "The Dark Knight" only pulled in $18 million. Previously, "Star Wars: Episode III —Revenge of the Sith" took $17 million.

"Half-Blood Prince" officially hit theaters today and is currently playing at 4,275 locations. These early figure suggest the flick is on its way to a massive five-day total. Possibly the highest grossing "Potter" yet? Probably!

Check out our review right here, and make sure to see what other Web critics are saying as well.

Source: Variety