Fan Fare
Entertainment behind the scenes
Muggles beware! Pottermania is back
Muggles take note. A new and possibly unprecedented wave of Pottermania is about to hit movie goers, newspaper readers, Internet visitors and other innocent bystanders as Warner Bros gears up for the release of the eighth and final instalment of the Harry Potter film franchise.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2″ is released in theatres on July 15th, and brings to and end one of cinema’s most successful series. For the first time it’s in 3D and there will, there absolutely has to be, resolution of the question — Harry or Voldemort? — by the end.
For those of sturdy constitution, Warner is putting on the whole series again in select British cinemas, starting with “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” on Friday, July 8th and then running through the week until the launch of Deathly Hallows – Part 2 the folloing Friday. We can expect many more such announcements and celebrations in the coming weeks.
Of course, most of the world knows the answer to the key question posed above, as it was in the seventh and final book of the series created by J.K. Rowling. But the lack of a surprise ending is unlikely to dent the box office too badly, with experts predicting another ticket sale bonanza to bid farewell to the fictional boy wizard and his pals at Hogwarts.
Sandra Bullock scores touchdown at box office
It’s been a wild year at the box office for Sandra Bullock, whose report card this decade has been middling at best.
The actress, 45, returned to theaters for the first time in more than two years in June with the romantic comedy “The Proposal,” which went on to become the biggest film of her career (before accounting for inflation), with $164 million in domestic ticket sales. But then came her September stinker, “All About Steve,” which was one of her weakest entries with $34 million in ticket sales. She is pictured at the premiere of the latter film, looking happier than she should have been.
‘Harry Potter’ sales fail to live up to opening weekend hype
Remember the breathless reports concerning the record-breaking opening of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in July?
The sixth movie in the fantasy franchise surpassed “Spider-Man 3″ to set new worldwide ($394 million) and foreign ($236 million) records, and its North American tally ($158.0 million) was $18 million higher than that of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” two years earlier. (Note: Data are slightly different in the link as they were estimates, and the final figures were issued the following day.)
