it was topped by Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($483.2 million). In the UK, the film grossed £19.75 million (equivalent to about $38.13 million), the highest opening for both the series and releases of 2009. At the end of the film's US and Canadian box office run, the total ticket sales of the film were $302.3 million; making it the third-most successful film in the franchise, after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as well as the third-highest-grossing film of 2009 in these regions behind Avatar and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As with all of the previous films in the franchise, Half-Blood Prince proved to be extremely successful globally with an estimated non-US total gross of $632.1 million, totalling approximately $934.5 million worldwide. This made it the second-highest-grossing film of 2009, behind Avatar. It is the fifth-highest-grossing film in the franchise, behind Philosopher's Stone, both parts of Deathly Hallows, and Order of the Phoenix. It was once the eighth-highest grossing film of all time. In South Africa, the film opened with the number-one position, grossing $789,176; it maintained the number-one position during the second week, with a total of $242,336. In Australia, the film broke records with a debut of $11.5 million. Opening at number one, it maintained a second week at number one with a total of $5.3 million (down 54%), and grossed a total of $24.2 million. In France, the film debuted at $20.5 million from 949 cinemas. In Japan, the film held the top spot in the box office rankings until the release of Kamen Rider Decade: All Riders vs. Dai-Shocker, which took the top spot in its first weekend. Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Dark, thrilling, and occasionally quite funny, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also visually stunning and emotionally satisfying." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 78 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The film scored an 87 from professional critics at the Broadcast Film Critics Association; it is the first Harry Potter film to receive a Critic's Choice certificate. Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale. The first