Potter film breaks record in US

Actor Daniel Radcliffe denied he was too old to play Harry Potter

The new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, has taken a record-breaking $12m (£6m) at midnight screenings in the US.

The figure is the most made at the box office for a Wednesday opening midnight run, according to Daily Variety.

The previous record-holder was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, which returned around $8m (£3.9m) in midnight ticket sales in 2003.

Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix opens in the UK on Thursday.

Its early takings were double that of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the previous film in the series, which took $6m (£2.9m) at US midnight screenings in 2005.

'Unique challenges'

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe told US TV show Larry King Live that acting in the new movie was "some of the hardest stuff I've had to do to date".

"Each film presents its own very unique challenges so it's sort of like playing a different part every time you come back and do it," he said.