Harry Potter has cast his biggest box-office spell yet with a franchise record $125.1 million over the weekend.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" also added $205 million in 54 overseas countries, bringing the film's worldwide total to $330.1 million.
In terms of domestic revenue, "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" came in ahead of the series' best previous debut of $102.7 million for 2005's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."
Overseas markets for "Deathly Hallows" were led by a $28 million opening in Great Britain, $21.8 million in Germany, $14.8 million in Australia, $14 million in Japan and $12.3 million in Russia.
The movie audience has grown up along with young wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint). Distributor Warner Bros. reported that 25 percent of the audience for the new movie was between 18 and 34, compared with only 10 percent for "Sorcerer's Stone" nine years ago.
"Megamind," the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, fell to second-place with $16.2 million, raising its three-week total to $109.5 million.
Russell Crowe's thriller "The Next Three Days," the weekend's only other new wide release, debuted weakly at No. 5 with $6.8 million.
Woman claims Sheen threw lamp at her
Capri Anderson, the woman found in Charlie Sheen's hotel room in October, says the actor hurled racial slurs, threw a lamp at her and grabbed her by the throat.
She says she's suing Sheen for battery and false imprisonment, and plans to file a criminal report with New York police.
Appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday, the adult-film actress described events at the hotel that led to her locking herself in a bathroom of Sheen's suite, which was found trashed. Sheen was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Anderson said she had been hired only to escort Sheen to dinner that night.
Lohan won't play Linda Lovelace
Lindsay Lohan's court-ordered rehab will prevent her from playing 1970s porn star Linda Lovelace in "Inferno."
Writer-director Matthew Wilder says his production team is in negotiations with another actress to play Lovelace.
The "Mean Girls" star is expected to be in rehab in southern California until at least Jan. 3.
The actress has become more of a tabloid mainstay than box office draw since a pair of high-profile arrests in 2007 led to a drug and drunken driving case. A judge last month ordered Lohan to rehab. It was her fifth time in court since May. The ruling allowed her to avoid a fourth trip to jail.
Cher glad she finally committed to 'Burlesque'
Getting Cher to commit to "Burlesque" took some doing.
"I drove all of them crazy," Cher recalled. The big-screen musical, about a veteran nightclub performer and the newcomer she takes under her wing, is finally well under way.
Co-star Christina Aguilera was in place. And, for a while, so was Cher, marking her first major feature-film role since 1999's "Tea with Mussolini."
Then she changed her mind, explaining that her character "wasn't exactly who she turned out to be on screen, and I needed her to be that character."
Writer-director Steven Antin and Screen Gems chief Clint Culpepper got word she was doing dubbing work just steps away from their offices on the Sony lot. "There we were, stalking Cher for an hour and a half," Antin recalled. "It was insane."
The two convinced Cher to come up and see storyboards detailing Antin's vision for the movie. "We said, 'Five minutes,'" Antin remembered. She stayed three hours and, again, agreed to sign on.
"Clint doesn't let you say 'no,'" Cher said, with a laugh. "And I wanted to sing in a movie. I'm glad I finally committed."
Food Network cuts 'Ace of Cakes'
Celebrity baker Duff Goldman hasn't decorated his last elaborate cake, but the cameras of the Food Network will no longer follow his every move. Food Network officials said Goldman's show, "Ace of Cakes," has been canceled. It featured Goldman and his colorful staff from his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes.
The show's new season, which starts in January, will be its last, network officials said. "Ace of Cakes" debuted in 2006, and the final six episodes of the new season will bring the total to 116.
Goldman confirmed that "Ace of Cakes" will soon become history, but said the Food Network is developing new concepts for him.
