UPDATE: 3:10PM ET - Wizard fans powered Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to the fourth biggest opening day of all-time on Wednesday spending a towering $58.2M on the fantasy tentpole, according to final studio figures, including a record $22.2M from post-midnight shows late Tuesday night. The latest Hogwarts pic from Warner Bros. played in 4,275 locations and averaged a spectacular $13,608 per theater.

Only three films have generated more in their first day of release - last summer's The Dark Knight ($67.2M on a Friday), last month's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen ($62M on a Wednesday), and 2007's Spider-Man 3 ($59.8M on a Friday). Prince also surged 32% higher than the opening day of the last wizard pic Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which also debuted on a July Wednesday in 2007.

That film grossed $44.2M in its first day including $12M from post-midnight shows. Breaking down the gross, Prince's post-midnights were a stunning 85% better than Phoenix's while the rest of the Wednesday tally was only 12% higher. Clearly, there was much more intense demand to see the very first shows of this new installment, even if it meant getting home past 3:00am.

Half-Blood Prince is on course to haul in a huge amount over its five-day Wednesday-to-Sunday debut period, although the business should be even more front-loaded than it was for Phoenix. Two years ago, that Potter film saw 32% of its $139.7M five-day bow in the first day. Prince is likely to witness a higher ratio meaning its extended opening should end up in the $160-175M range if the days ahead play out in a similar fashion.

Check the UPDATED box office chart for the Top Opening Days of All-Time.

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