The magic is real. “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is breaking box office records worldwide, taking in $44.8 million in its first day, the best single-day gross ever for a movie on a Wednesday.
Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and Luna Lovegood ( Evanna Lynch) watch a thestral in a scene from “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”
The fifth sequel to one of the world’s most enchanting magical tale topped the previous Wednesday record of $40.4 million for 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
“In terms of box office, the law of diminishing returns does not apply to ‘Harry Potter.’ It seems to be getting better with age,” said the box-office tracker, noting that the July 21 publication of the seventh and final “Harry Potter” novel likely helped drive interest in the latest film.
“Order of the Phoenix,” the fifth installment of the movie franchise based on J.K. Rowling’s fantasy best-sellers, has teen wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) teaching classmates magic spells to defend themselves against the coming battle with the forces of dark Lord Voldemort.
Being a long-time Potter fan, I was one of those who watched the first screening of the movie on its first play date at the Imax Theater at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila last Wednesday. Although the novel is a trillion-times much better than the movie story-wise, no words could match the spectacle of the eye-popping visuals on screen, particularly the almost 20-minute fight scene at the Ministry of Magic towards the end of the film which was in 3-D. Gosh! The blasts from the wands, the falling orbs on the shelves, the confrontation scene between Voldemort and Dumbledore… ahhh…I got to watch the movie again, and then buy the DVD probably a month later to watch it again.
Meantime, HP author J.K. Rowling has revealed how she broke down in tears during the completion of her final book in the Harry Potter series.
She also told interviewer Jonathan Ross how she changed the last word in “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” at the eleventh hour.
“When I finished one chapter near the end I absolutely howled,” she told the BBC television presenter.
She said she finished the book alone in a hotel room.
“I was sobbing my heart out — I downed half a bottle of champagne from the mini bar in one and went home with mascara all over my face. That was really tough.”
When asked by the chat show host whether the word “scar” was still the last word in the book, as had been reported, she said: “Scar? It was for ages, and now it’s not. “Scar is quite near the end, but it’s not the last word.”
Rowling also revealed that the character Harry Potter was “totally imaginary” and not based on anyone.
His red-haired pal Ron Weasley was a lot like her oldest friend Sean though, she confessed.
More than 325 million copies of the first six books have been sold worldwide, helping to turn Rowling into the first dollar-billionaire author.
The “Deathly Hallows” appears on the bookshelves on July 21, but 1.6 million copies have been pre-ordered online.