"Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" easily placed first at this weekend’s North American box office cashing in $77.4 million from 4,285 locations, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI.

Based on one of British writer J.K. Rowling’s books, the movie made the fourth best opening this year, behind "Spider Man 3" ($151.1 million), "Shrek the Third" ($121.6 million) and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End" ($114.7 million.)

Earlier in the week, the fifth installment of the Harry Potter saga set a fresh record for a Wednesday debut, racking up $44.8 million for Warner Brothers, a subsidiary of Time Warner.

"This could end up being the biggest 'Potter' yet," said Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures' president of domestic distribution. "Audiences are enthusiastic and we've got great summer play dates ahead of us."

Since its debut, Order of the Phoenix took in $140 million, becoming the highest five-day opening for the Harry Potter franchise, which is on its way to become the second-biggest franchise in North America, behind only Star Wars.

The movie also gathered an estimated $190.3 million from foreign markets, according to Box Office Mojo. All together, the reported $150 million production made $330.3 million since last week.

"This movie's tally was the best of the franchise to date," said Brandon Gray, president of Box Office Mojo LLC. He said the previous best was the fourth film, "The Goblet of Fire," which earned 119.7 million U.S. dollars in its first five days. Comparisons beyond that were difficult to make, he said, because three of the previous films opened up in November, and another in June.