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'Harry Potter' Already Breaking Records... >

by Brandon Gray
July 13, 2011
It's not even out yet, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is already breaking records. Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that the Harry Potter finale has conjured over $32 million in advance ticket sales, setting a new pre-opening benchmark. Regal Entertainment Group alone claimed over $10 million for the 535 locations it operates, whlie MovieTickets.com has already sold more Deathly Hallows Part 2 tickets than for any other 2011 release, marking a 38 percent increase over Part 1.

In a bid to give fans ample opportunity to see the long-awaited finale this weekend (and to potentially break the opening weekend record), Warner Bros. will unleash Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 on over 11,000 screens at 4,375 locations, setting new records for both the franchise and the studio.

Predecessor Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 had around 9,400 screens at 4,125 locations, debuting to a franchise-high $125 million, while Warner Bros. stable mate The Dark Knight had a little over 9,000 screens at 4,366 locations and shattered the opening weekend record with $158.4 million on the same mid-July timeframe in 2008. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End likely still holds the all-time screen count record (11,500), while The Twilight Saga: Eclipse maintains the location count record (4,468).

Included in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2's release is a record 3,000-plus 3D location count, topping Transformers: Dark of the Moon's 2,789 record. Deathly Hallows Part 2 also boasts the IMAX release record, chalking up 274 IMAX locations.

For its midnight launch, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 will show at over 3,800 locations. Deathly Hallows Part 1 played at around 3,700 locations for its midnight debut, which generated $24 million. Eclipse currently holds the midnight record with $30 million at over 4,000 locations.

In Box Office Mojo's "when will you see it" reader polling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is pulling a whopping 68.2 percent for "opening weekend" so far, surpassing its predecessor's 64.1 percent score. The Dark Knight had nearly 77 percent when it released.

Discuss 'Harry Potter' on Facebook, Twitter, and in Box Office Mojo's forums.

Previous 'Harry Potter' Weekend Reports:
? 'Deathly Hallows Part 1' Marks Liveliest 'Potter' Debut Yet
? 'Half-Blood Prince:' Harry Potter' Has Hot-Blooded Premiere
? 'Order of the Phoenix:' Harry Potter' Flies with the 'Phoenix'
? 'Goblet of Cash:' Harry Potter's 'Goblet' Runneth Over with Cash
? 'Prisoner of Azkaban:' Hotter 'Potter' in Summer
? 'Chamber of Secrets:' 'Harry Potter' Potent in Second Movie Debut

Related Charts:
? 'Harry Potter' Franchise
? All-Time Widest Releases
? All-Time Opening Weekends

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I Movie Review

With the imminent end looming large the clueless trio of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are running through the woods mostly trying to figure things out and maybe the second part would be better and extravagant but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I isn't all that great unless you are a Potter maniac. So if someone told you that the first installment of the Harry Potter finale is strictly for fans do believe them and even steer clear of the film if possible for you might not get most of it.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part I Story

Harry Potter's looking for all the Horcruxes and wants to destroy them before Lord Voldermort's secret to immortality is out. For someone who hasn't read a single Harry Potter book or seen a single Harry Potter film this isn't the film to fall in love with the bespectacled boy wizard. After all it's only fair for the filmmakers not to pander to someone who waltzes in the seventh installment of a franchise and expects to be blown away. In that context Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I surely lacks the punch that a second last film of a seven part series should possess. This isn't Rambo or Rocky or even Police Academy that loses its sheen somewhere between part III and IV; on the contrary JK Rowling's successful series has it all figured out.

Apparently even those Potter maniacs who might not dress up as wizards while watching the film agree that this version stands very true to the book. But if looked from a different point of view the entire tension of Harry and Hermione walking around in the woods trying to decipher how to stop the Dark Lord largely consists of scenes that look cyclic. Harry, Hermione and Ron don't look really sad even when they get to learn of the deaths of people close to them. Rather they seem to mature up in a jiffy and move on to some more rambling in the dark.

Final Words on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part I

Does it really make sense to have a full film that acts like a half-hearted and almost soulless prelude to the climax? Maybe it does to be loyal to the spirit book. Could the two Deathly Hallows installments actually be one tight power-packed film? Perhaps yes. But the meditative tension of the book that has been translated on to the screen might just work very well with Potter freaks and set things up for penultimate finale. So what's the pay off for the first time viewers or the greatest of non-believers of Potter? The fantastic animation sequence about the secret of the Deathly Hallows stands out and is brilliant to say the least. Also the sequence of Rupert Grint's Ron finally confronting his worst fears of losing Hermione to his best friend and Dobby's death are good.

With all the talking and the seeking Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I ends on a great note of promise and after spending a better half of their lives playing the leads Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson look set for the final episode.

For someone who remains largely unaffected by Potter mania, this reviewer finds it rather difficult to rate this film.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part I Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Robbie Coltrane

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part I Screenplay by: Steve Kloves based on the book by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part I Directed by: David Yates

I am a Delhi-based author who writes for Buzzintown.com as part of Buzz Bureau team, while I also wear the hat of a documentary film maker. To know about latest English movies Bangalore or English movies Mumbai please visit movies.Buzzintown.com

Forecast: 'Harry Potter' to Go Out with a Bang... >

by Brandon Gray
July 14, 2011
Friday Update: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 decimated the midnight opening record last night, raking in $43.5 million at 3,800 locations. That alone would equal the 13th highest-grossing opening day ever. The previous midnight record holder was The Twilight Saga: Eclipse with $30 million at around 4,000 locations, followed by The Twilight Saga: New Moon with $26.3 million at 3,514 locations. The last Potter, Deathly Hallows Part 1, conjured a $24 million midnight start at 3,700 locations, while Half-Blood Prince logged $22.2 million at 3,003 locations and The Dark Knight nabbed $18.5 million at 3,040 locations. Deathly Hallows Part 2 more than quadrupled 2011's previous midnight best The Hangover Part II, which drew $10.4 million at 2,600 locations.

Thursday Forecast: Finally, the drawn-out battle between Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort comes to an end with the launch of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The wizard wunderkind's last stand will play out on over 11,000 screens at 4,375 locations, marking not only the series' broadest release yet but one of the largest ever, and the movie's already set an advance ticket sales record.

Predecessor Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 posted a franchise-high $125 million opening gross, but the penultimate Potter's $295 milion final haul was tepid by franchise standards. It made less than Half-Blood Prince and ranked as the least-attended Potter yet, potentially casting a shadow over Part 2. On the other hand, it could be spun as a major victory for half of a movie. With such a long-standing and enormously popular franchise, a disappointing entry isn't necessarily the end of the world: for example, Star Wars rebounded with its final movie Revenge of the Sith after hitting a low with Attack of the Clones, though it still didn't match its earlier movies.

Deathly Hallows Part 2's packing final-movie mojo, and the only question is how high it will fly. "It All Ends," Warner Bros.' marketing bluntly declares amidst the intense spectacle of the movie's wizard war. By opening Part 2 on a Friday instead of Wednesday like the past July Potters, Warner is clearly gunning for the opening weekend pantheon, if not dethroning all-time champ and Warner stable mate The Dark Knight's $158.4 million.

Combined, the first seven Harry Potter movies grossed $2 billion, and it has been a remarkably consistent run, even if it has trended downward, averaging nearly $287 million per movie. Deathly Hallows Part 2 will push Harry Potter past Star Wars to become the top-grossing franchise of all time (though with around half of the attendance). Part 2 marks Potter's first foray in the 3D illusion, and the movie will play at a record 3,000-plus 3D locations, including a record IMAX count of 274.

In Box Office Mojo's "when will you see it" reader polling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is pulling a whopping 67.7 percent for "opening weekend" so far, surpassing its predecessor's 64.1 percent score. The Dark Knight had nearly 77 percent when it released.

Meanwhile, as a colorful respite from the dark sturm und drang of Potter, Winnie the Pooh debuts at 2,405 locations, seemingly like a lamb to the slaughter. In Box Office Mojo's polling, though, the traditionally animated movie has logged a solid 6.3 percent "opening weekend" score, similar to Mr. Popper's Penguins and slightly better than Zookeeper. Distributor Walt Disney Pictures has taken a nostalgic and sentimental angle in its marketing, brought home by the extensive use of the Keane song "Somewhere Only We Know." Pooh, though, hasn't been big business recently: Pooh's Heffalump Movie and Piglet's Big Movie had little impact, though The Tigger Movie was a success, grossing $45.6 million back in 2000.

The Forecast, July 15-17
1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - $145 million
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $21.5 million
3. Horrible Bosses - $14.5 million
4. Winnie the Pooh - $11.5 million
5. Zookeeper - $10.5 million

Bar for Success
Since it's the final movie in the blockbuster series and is opening on a Friday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 needs to break the franchise record by a commanding margin. It needs to be put on track to becoming not only the highest-grossing Potter yet, but one of the most attended as well. Therefore, anything less than $145 million would be a bit disappointing.

Discuss the Weekend Forecast on Facebook, Twitter, and in Box Office Mojo's forums.

Related Stories:
? 'Harry Potter' Already Breaking Records
? July Preview
? Extended Summer Forecast: 'Harry Potter,' 'Transformers' & More Vie for Top Gross

Comps for:
? 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2'
? 'Winnie the Pooh'

Movie Review | 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2': Class Dismissed

Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros. Pictures, via Associated PressDaniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter in a scene from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." More Photos ?

Childhood ends, this time forever, with tears and howls, swirls of smoke, the shock of mortality and bittersweet smiles in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” the grave, deeply satisfying final movie in the series. A pop cultural happening extraordinaire, the Potter movies took uncertain flight in 2001 with Harry, then an orphan of 11, home alone with his grotesquely unloving relatives. Times were grim, at least off screen — the first opened in November of that year — but Chris Columbus’s directorial touch was insistently light as Harry was initiated into a world alive with odd doings, strange creatures and the evil that would almost consume it.

From left, Emma Watson as Hermione, Rupert Grint as Ron and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry in a scene from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2." More Photos ?

A decade later Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends, Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint), have become powerful adult wizards, while the actors are now stars. Look closely and you can see the beard inching along Harry’s, or rather Mr. Radcliffe’s pale chin. Meanwhile Ms. Watson, smoldering in bruising dark lipstick on the cover of the July Vogue, has her own hair and makeup artist, and the director, David Yates, even trains the camera on her generous peekaboo cleavage. Just as startling is the transformation of Mr. Grint who, in one early, anxious scene wears a goatee and a panicked look that together suggest a junior Paul Giamatti. My, how the children have grown — and the movies too.

It’s taken two of them to translate J. K. Rowling’s last, exhausting tome. A long windup to the new one’s big-bang finale, “Part 1” was memorable for the death of the house elf Dobby and less so for the draggy scenes of Harry, Hermione and Ron hiding and quarreling in the wild. There’s no time for adolescent angst in war. Now, when a student (he who shall not be named so as not to ruin the fun) declares his affection for another — the air electric with fire, frenzy and young love (if never lust) — it’s because, as he says, both may soon be dead. Fans of the books know how it turns out, and moviegoers can guess. Meanwhile this declaration, especially given the casualties to come, may fill you with feeling and also make you cry.

I did, partly because it’s been unexpectedly moving growing older with these characters and actors perhaps simply because it’s invariably poignant watching children become adults. However uneven they were at the start, the three young leads were irresistible simply because they were so young, unformed and vulnerable (like their characters). Ms. Watson was the most assured, while Mr. Grint was the natural (and still is). Mr. Radcliffe, button cute, capable, opaque, was tougher to warm up to. But it’s pointless to think of anyone else. He became Harry, Harry is him, and Mr. Radcliffe’s depthless quality now seems right for a character who, in the books and movies, was never as interesting as the magical world he revealed to us.

Mr. Radcliffe has evolved enough as a performer that he makes a steady hub for the busily spinning parts, even as Ms. Watson and Mr. Grint, whose characters are drifting toward their fate, have less to do. All three have nice moments in this movie, but it’s the older adults who take center stage. Much has rightly been made over the years about how the franchise became a platform for some of the best British actors working, a truism that brought it force and gravity as one after another great — Michael Gambon, Gary Oldman, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, Maggie Smith, David Thewlis, Jason Isaacs — stepped up, often wonderfully. Here it’s Ralph Fiennes and Alan Rickman who give the master class in acting.

As Lord Voldemort, the evil wizard who could not be named for ages but has been for a while, Mr. Fiennes has been part of the mix since the fourth film (“The Goblet of Fire”). Over the course of the series, as Voldemort gathered in power and corporeality, his wrenched, Medusa-like face eventually growing a body (though oddly losing its nose), the actor started to fill out the character with sharp, indelible gestures, a flick of the wrist, a twist of the mouth. In “Part 2” his whispering hiss of a voice slithers into ears like a snake, seducing and terrorizing. But watch Mr. Fiennes’s hands, look as they flutter, their white, spidery fingers idling with exquisite delicacy as the long nails, sharpened into perfect arrows, threaten the worst.

This is such great screen villainy it makes you regret there wasn’t more of Voldemort all along and more too of his incarnations as another gifted boy wizard, Tom Riddle. The books, fat with detail and detours into the past, gave Ms. Rowling loads of room to play. With only two or so hours of story time, the movies have been forced to sacrifice swaths of her material, and while the scripts have been largely models of adaptation — most, this one included, are by Steve Kloves — the emphasis on action (and interminable games of quidditch) was also a concession to the action-imperative of the modern blockbuster. (A deadly dull game that served as a rehearsal for war, quidditch is one Hogwarts tradition I was happy to see burn.)