The story

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" made $22.2 million at its midnight showings Wednesday, setting a new record.

The figure was released by Warner Bros., the studio that produced the film. (Warner Bros., like CNN, is a unit of Time Warner.) The previous record was held by last year's Batman tale "The Dark Knight," which made $18 million at its midnight showings.

"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," which opened on a Wednesday in late June, grossed about $16 million in its midnight premiere, according to the trade paper Variety. Read full article »

CNN's Todd Leopold contributed to this report.

All About Harry Potter • Books • Movies