'Potter' finale conjures up $1 billion worldwide

Los Angeles: Harry Potter has joined the billion-dollar club.

Distributor Warner Bros. said Sunday that 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2' crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office. It's soon expected to pass 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides', which is this year's top grossing movie at $1.03 billion.

The last of the eight films about the young wizard is the first in the franchise to reach the billion dollar mark. The previous best global haul was $974.8 million for the original film, 2001's 'Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone'.

With $21.9 million domestically this weekend, 'Deathly Hallows: Part 2' climbed to a domestic total of $318.5 million. That tops the franchise's previous best of $317.6 million for 'Sorcerer's Stone'.

But factoring in today's higher admission prices, 'Deathly Hallows: Part 2' has not caught up to 'Sorcerer's Stone' in terms of actual tickets sold.

The 2009 film 'Avatar' holds the record for the biggest worldwide box office haul, grossing $2.8 billion. It's followed by another James Cameron film, 'Titanic', which brought in $1.8 billion.