Harry Potter is officially back! The fifth installment of J.K. Rowling's saga had its opening night in the US theaters yesterday and it sure cashed in big: $12 million to be exact. But how does that fare compare to the other big name openings?

Well, since they are here for about a week, let's see how the "Transformers" have managed. The DreamWorks - Paramount Pictures collaboration opened last Monday and it earned $8.8 million in its first night. First round to Harry Potter. The Warner Bros production also topped another big name midnight opening, "The Lord of the Rings: Return of The King", with "only" $8 million.

Although its midnight gross is definitely impressive, "The Order of the Phoenix" did not break any records. The ultimate midnight opening belongs to 20th Century Fox's "Star Wars: Episode III - The Revenge of the Sith", which grossed $16.5 million in its opening night on Thursday. But when it comes to Wednesday night openings, Harry Potter is definitely playing with the big boys.

That's how "The Order of the Phoenix" fared last night, but now it's time to see how its gross turns out after a full day. For instance, "The Return of the King" went on a first-day gross of $34.5 million. Experts believe that the fifth "Harry Potter" movie has what it takes to beat that, and are even suggesting that the Phoenix could go as high as to beat the record holder "Spider-Man 2", which had a first-day opening of $40.4 million. Tomorrow we'll see the results.

In this fifth movie, Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts but nobody believes that Lord Voldermort has returned, since the now 15-year-old wizard was the only witness. Speaking of the Dark Lord, he is building an army to get back on top. To be able to fight him, Harry gathers his very own army of students. I'm not going to say any else, because I wouldn't want to spoil your fun.

All I can say is that this is the darkest movie of the series, which is why it was flared by the critics. Well I'm sorry, but Harry Potter is not just about magic spells, friendship and happy endings. Grow up! This is no longer a book for kids, and the movie is bound to reflect this transformation.