If you like reading about lanky teenagers waving wands, hormones and whatnot at each other, then continue reading about this phenomenon that is Harry Potter. If you would rather read about Vampires that walk in broad daylight and sparkle under the sun, and only drink the blood of animals, then I suggest you change reading material. Either way, you are most definitely a care bear in every sense of the word, not that I’m any different.
On a more serious note, the Harry Potter magic movies series has been making a killing at box offices worldwide since the first installment, The Sorcerer’s Stone was released in 2001. The first film in a series of six, became the 8th highest grossing film of the decade netting a total of close to $1 billion. The succeeding installments would share similar success as The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince were ranked 10th and 11th respectively.
Quite a feat considering it’s creator, critically acclaimed author, J.K. Rowling, was relatively unknown before her magical movies hit the world big time. Since then all books in the Harry Potter series have been best-sellers garnering immense international popularity. All 6 motion pictures in the series prior to Deathly Hallows, have ranked among the top 50 highest-grossing films of the decade; something most if not all film series’ have failed to do. It’s rise has been meteoric, and it is showing no signs of descending into free-fall.
Deathly Hallows, which was released in theaters late November of this year, has already netted $782 million making it the 33rd highest grossing movie of the decade. Same results are expected for The Deathly Hallows 2, which will be shown July of next year. It’s closest rivals to date are fellow storybook adaptations, Stephenie Meyer’s The Twilight Saga and the J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the latter grossing more in box office sales than the former.
Main protagonists Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson have basked in its success for the past 10 years. In a recent interview, Watson reveals she still can’t imagine life outside of Harry Potter, which of course gave her first major break and launched her international career. The same runs true for her two male co-stars Radcliffe and Grint, who likewise owe much, if not all of their success to the Harry Potter Franchise. The last installment in the long-running series is set to be released mid-July 2011.