'Harry Potter' off to Record Start at Broadway Box Office

Harry Potter is dominating the Broadway box office just as much as it did the cinematic box office.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child set a new Broadway previews record, earning $2,138,859 through April 8th.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child shattered the previous box office record of $1.6 million set by All the Way in 2014.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child officially begins its commercial Broadway run on April 22nd. The two-part play premiered last year in London's West End and won nine Olivier Awards.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is written by Jack Throne and directed by Jack Tiffany based on a story they co-plotted with Harry Potter creator and author JK Rowling. Rowling has endorsed the play as the official eighth story in the Harry Potter series. The story takes place nineteen years after the Battle of Hogwarts, which was depicted in the novel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (and the film adaptation Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2), with Harry now an employee of the Ministry of Magic and his youngest son, Albus Severus, about to attend his first year at Hogwarts.

The show's synopsis reads, "It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places."

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is directed by John Tiffany with movement by Steven Hoggett, set by Christine Jones, costumes by Katrina Lindsay, music & arrangements by Imogen Heap, lighting by Neil Austin, sound by Gareth Fry, illusions & magic by Jamie Harrison and music supervision & arrangements by Martin Lowe.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, Colin Callender, and Harry Potter Theatrical Productions.

Are you surprised to see Harry Potter take Broadway by storm? Are you still hoping it gets turned into a movie? Share your thoughts in the comments!