Cast members Rupert Grint (L-R), Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson attend the premiere of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood July 8, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters) Photo Gallery>>>

    LOS ANGELES, July 12 (Xinhua) -- The fifth Harry Potter film set a new record for a Wednesday debut at the box office in North America, as the latest installment of Warner Bros.' hugely successful franchise took in about 44.8 million U.S. dollars in ticket receipts, according to figures released Thursday.

    Box office tracking firm Media By Numbers here said the ticket sales of "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" from 4,181 theaters in the United States and Canada beat the previous Wednesday opening record set by "Spider-Man 2" which made 40.4 million dollars in 2004.

    The figure, including about 12 million dollars in midnight screenings from early Wednesday morning, also was the best for any film in the Harry Potter series to date, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Media By Numbers.

    It also marked the second-highest opening day of the summer after "Spider-Man 3," which opened on a Friday to 59.8 million dollars.

    The previous four Harry Potter films have made more than 3.5 billion dollars at worldwide box office, with the first installment, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 2001, delivering the best performance with global revenues of 975 million dollars.

    Film industry analysts earlier predicted record numbers for this summer season, but a series of blockbuster sequels, including "Sider-Man 3," "Shrek the Third" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," have yet to boost the box office to new heights.

    Meanwhile, the film is also reportedly breaking box office records overseas, as distributors are now in the process of tallying the opening day take for some European territories. In addition to the United States and Canada, Warner Bros. began to release the film Wednesday in 44 overseas markets.