"This boy will be famous. There will be no child in our world who doesn't know his name." So said Professor McGonagall to Professor Dumbledore, a decade back, in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. The child she was referring to was of course, Harry Potter or the Boy who Lived. And how true were to be her words! Potter not only became a phenomenon in the wizarding world but also took our world, the muggle world, by storm. And it all comes to a riveting conclusion this weekend with the release of the eighth and final movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. While the penultimate movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1, fell only $50 million short from earning $1 billion in worldwide revenues, its successor is tipped to reach that mark. And if starts are anything to go by, the movie has already ripped the best opening day earnings ever in the US box office, with $92 million revenues earned on Friday, much ahead of the previous record holder, 2009's The Twilight Saga: New Moon ($73 million).
It does not take a genius to predict that the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is going to be a massive hit, that the producers will go home richer, and that the cast will be all smiles (and rich of course!). And hence I will not state the obvious! But what interests me is the phenomenon that has been created around one character that probably is unmatched in the history of movie making. What started off from the pen of the author, J.K. Rowling, has led to so much more than just seven books and eight movies. I am not talking of only the theme parks, the merchandises or a new lingo that has been created, but way much more... maybe another attempt to appreciate the long old battle of good versus evil, how courage of even the young can inspire so many, and of principles that one must adhere to even in the darkest of times. And of friendship that stands by you when everything else fails!
The story of Harry Potter has transcended language and geographical barriers, has been seen by young and old, and appreciated by millions. And so it is no surprise that the last movie of this franchise should be so highly anticipated, so much talked about. It is one of those things that years later a new generation will ask you 'Where were you when the last Harry Potter movie was released?'. I can recollect very few franchise-ending movies that created such a fervour. The mother of all series, Star Wars, comes to mind easily and its final chapter, The Revenge of the Sith, released in 2005, had been a beacon calling across its followers from far and wide to be a part of the final chapter, eventually earning $850 million in worldwide revenues (do not count the animated series that followed as part of this epic movie series). Maybe The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King would also count, but then it has The Hobbit releasing soon that would act as a prequel, so the franchise has not exactly ended. Similarly, some other great franchises that were slated to end reemerged, such as the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, while the superhero movies based on Batman or Spiderman may never end. But for what appears now to be the case, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 would be the final movie of this series, and this is what makes it more special! The possibilities of Rowling revisiting her series and continuing it forward always exists for nothing is written in stone, but keeping that possibility (and for some, a hope) aside, we bid adieu to a grand series, with style!
"And now Harry, let us step out into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure!" (words of Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince)
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