‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ looking to smash ‘Transformers 2′

'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' (C) Warner Bros.

Online ticket sales for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince have been huge and are outpacing the top-grossing movie of the summer –a little film entitled Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

According to the online ticket merchant Fandango, more than 1,000 showings of Harry Potter 6 have already sold-out and has become one of the fastest-selling films in the company’s nine-year history. Currently, Potter represents 96% of total sales for the online firm.

“Harry is tracking to match last year’s juggernaut, The Dark Knight, in advance ticket sales,” said Fandango COO Rick Butler. “Showtimes are selling out at a very fast pace, and it’s clear that the film’s wider blockbuster appeal, solid word-of-mouth and positive Internet buzz on Half-Blood Prince are helping fuel the demand.”

The Harry Potter franchise is also looking to become the highest-grossing series in history, bypassing the long-running James Bond series. The past five Potter films have grossed $4.48 billion wordwide, putting the boy wizard story right story behind the beloved spy series which is holding onto the record with $5 billion.

The first installment of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, debuted at the box office in 2001, while James Bond has been saving damsels and fighting madmen since 1962 in Dr. No. The franchise currently has 22 films to its name.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is due out in theaters tomorrow.

While you wait, here’s the review.