Captain America tops the box office, nudges Potter down
Toy figurines of "Captain America" are shown on display at the pop culture event Comic Con in San Diego, California July 22, 2011. REUTERS

The Superhero took over from the wizard at the U.S. and Canadian box offices as newcomer Captain America: The First Avenger came out on top of the final Harry Potter film.

Captain America, the superhero movie starring Chris Evans made $65.8 million in its debut weekend ticket sales as the magic faded from the final "Harry Potter" film's record-breaking debut.

Arriving approximately on 7,100 screens at 3,715 locations, including 3D and 2D screens, the fourth and final superhero film of summer earned $65.8 million. This was over $10 million over what both “X-Men: First Class" and “Green Lantern” collected upon their debuts in June and slightly above what Thor had earned in its opening weekend in May.

Captain America's estimated attendance on the first day was comparable to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, but was less than Fantastic Four and X-Men among past July Marvel Comics kick-offs, according to Box office Mojo.

Distributor Paramount Pictures' exit polling showed that 64 percent of the Captain's crowd was male, which was about the same as Thor, and 57 percent was 25 years of age and older.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, had earned a $48.1 million domestically in the second weekend by falling 72 percent off 4,375 screens. The eighth and final part of the boy-wizard franchise in its first weekend made $169.2 million, the largest debut on record, and smashing international, worldwide and IMAX records as well.

In the meantime, Friends with Benefits got an estimated $18.5 million start on around 3,500 screens at 2,926 locations, which was less than the $19.7 million made by another "Friends with Benefits" sex comedy "No Strings Attached" back in January, Box Office Mojo reported.