*Harry Potter is already making box office magic

The last installment in the hugely popular series opened after midnight and already has sold $43.5 million in tickets, which is more money than many films do throughout their entire theatrical runs. It's also more than any film has ever made in post-midnight screenings. From the LAT:

The strong early sales for "Deathly Hallows -- Part 2" are only a further indication that the film is on track to beat the $158.4-million record for a three-day domestic opening, currently held by 2008's "The Dark Knight." The film is also playing fantastically overseas, where on Thursday morning it had already grossed $43.6 million in 26 foreign countries.

*The Atlantic's Conor Friedersdorf checked out the new Sarah Palin "documentary" in a virtually empty theater in OC. Everybody was over at the Potter movie.