Harry Potter has met his match in South Africa. A local film has achieved the seemingly impossible feat of displacing Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone from its pole position immediately upon release - as well as outperforming Potter's opening gross of one week earlier.

Mr Bones, (pictured) produced by Videovision Entertainment and distributed by UIP, achieved the all-time biggest opening for a local title in the territory with $289,106 (R2,964,781) from 87 prints after opening on Nov 30. The film removed Harry Potter, which debuted on Nov 23 with $288,236 (R2,955,864), from the top spot

The comedy is the third largest opening of all-time in South Africa, behind Mission: Impossible 2 ($327,920) and The World Is Not Enough.

The film stars South Africa's biggest box office star Leon Schuster as a white witch doctor who is sent looking for the son of his tribal king but brings back an American golfer. Schuster has appeared in a host of popular South African hits including Panic Mechanic, which is the second highest grossing film ever in the territory after Titanic