One of the few movie series that has caught my interest is the Harry Potter series. Did you know that today, i.e., November 4, 2001, the first series premiered in London?
The Odeon Leicester Square in London hosted the international premiere of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone on November 4, 2001. The theatre was set up to seem like Hogwarts School.
It was inspired by J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, published in June 1997. In the Harry Potter film series, it is the first installment. Emma Watson plays Hermione Granger, Rupert Grint plays Ron Weasley, and Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter in the movie. The narrative centres on Harry’s first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, during which he learns he is a well-known wizard and starts receiving formal wizarding instruction.
Let’s get to know a little bit about the Harry Potter books on which the film series are based. The film rights to the book were purchased by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1999 for an estimated £1 million ($1.65 million). The production got underway in the UK in 2000. The three leads were selected in August 2000 after open casting calls, and Rowling required that the entire cast be British and Irish. From September 2000 to March 2001, filming was conducted at Leavesden Film Studios and historic structures in the United Kingdom. On November 10 and 11, 2001, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was released for two days of previews in theatres in the UK and Ireland.
In addition to formally opening in the UK and Ireland, the movie debuted on November 16 in the US, Canada, and Taiwan. With a global box office total of $974 million during its first run and over $1 billion from later re-releases, it became a critical and financial success. It became the second highest-grossing movie at the time and the highest-grossing movie of 2001. The Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design were among the numerous honours for which the movie received nominations. From Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—Part 2 in 2011, it was followed by seven sequels.
Harry Potter is unquestionably a global sensation, with 1,084,170 words, 198 chapters, 772 enduring characters, seven novels, eight films, one play, and a franchise valued at billions of dollars. The Harry Potter world is still as great and powerful as it was twenty-six years ago.
The first US edition of the UK’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was released by Scholastic on September 1, 1998, exactly twenty-six years ago.
The world was altered by Harry Potter
The little UK children’s press that finally took a risk on the raw manuscript probably couldn’t have imagined that it would have a quantifiable impact on everything it touched. J.K. Rowling was an unknown single mother when she first had the idea for her magical story while travelling on a train.
Harry Potter became a rage in the US.
When Harry Potter originally came out in the UK 26 years ago, the book succeeded, earning a Smarties Award and bringing in a decent amount of money for Bloomsbury, its publisher. However, it wasn’t until Scholastic paid an incredible $105,000 for the US publication rights—roughly ten times the typical rate for foreign rights sales at the time—that it became a phenomenon.
Despite the widespread belief at the time that children’s books only sold in paperback, Scholastic made an investment in a beautiful hardcover design for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, which would go on to become an iconic cover. It made arrangements for advertisements to appear in the appropriate newspapers and publications and for Harry Potter to be on display on the front tables of booksellers. In other words, it provided the book with a lot more resources than the traditional debut novel from an unknown author, and that choice paid off.
But the fact remains that if the readers hadn’t enjoyed the book, Scholastic’s efforts would have been in vain. That’s what took Harry Potter from being a passing fad and made it a phenomenon that shaped a generation’s perception of childhood.
Why the Harry Potter books become so popular among adults
According to 2012 research, adults purchase 55% of YA novels. Harry Potter, which became an unexpected crossover smash that was loved by both children and adults and made it acceptable for adults to read novels that are supposedly for children, is largely responsible for that boom.
The Harry Potter books blend the intimacy and character development of a traditional boarding school story with the scale and sweep of epic fantasy and the complex plotting of a mystery. At whatever age, the outcome is simply enjoyable to read.
Indeed, Rowling’s writing is best characterised as competent and workmanlike; if your only motivation for reading is to appreciate well-crafted, well-balanced lines, you might be better off reading somewhere else. However, the Harry Potter books become quite alluring if you are an adult who can envisage reading for more than one reason, like the thrill of losing yourself in another world or the pleasures of stories.
Harry Potter’s success and the impact on Hollywood
Here are two examples of how Harry Potter altered publishing and how those modifications impacted other facets of popular culture:
Firstly, the books enabled the publication of lengthy works intended for young readers. It was widely believed before Harry Potter that children lacked the attention span necessary to read lengthy volumes. In any case, it was believed that children did not purchase their own books as their parents bought them. And that the parents would never be willing to spend an additional dollar or two for a thick book with its additional printing and binding cost, but this series proved all these views wrong.
However, the Harry Potter craze became an unstoppable cultural force, and it became evident that fans would continue to purchase the books anyway. Children’s authors and publishers paid attention. Between 2006 and 2016, when the Potter novels were at their longest, middle-grade novels grew by 115.5 percent, according to Booklist. (They had only increased by 37.37 percent from 1996 to 2006.)
Secondly, children’s literature became an unstoppable force thanks to Harry Potter. Children’s books were frequently regarded as an afterthought prior to Harry Potter. Sales were declining. Analysts would lamentably claim that children were just no longer reading. Children’s books became a category full of mega-sellers after Harry Potter. In 2004, during the height of the Harry Potter craze, non-Potter children’s book sales were rising by 2% annually. Since then, sales at the children’s market have increased by 52 percent overall, or 4 percent annually. In contrast, the book market as a whole has only increased by 33% since 2004.
Undoubtedly, the Harry Potter generation enjoys reading—millennials read more than any previous generation—and it has established a culture where children’s books are influential cultural influences and a source of inspiration for Hollywood. Twilight, The Hunger Games, Divergent, and all the others are products of movie companies searching children’s bestseller lists for books they can make into the next Harry Potter.
The Potter Effect
The popularity of the Harry Potter series is due to more than just its strong marketing and publicity budget, though that certainly helped, or the press’s interest in it due to its intrigue and controversy. But because it presents a story that millions of people adore and introduces the world to a vast and wonderful world that millions of people have fantasised about escaping into, and so the Harry Potter series became a sensation.
Not only is the Harry Potter series about three friends who go on silly magical adventures, but it also shows that being brave and chivalrous is a gem, believing in goodness is a weapon, being sweet and loyal is not a sign of weakness, being smart does not equate to being a nerd, and cunning is definitely not a sign of evil. For those who wish to learn, this narrative is brimming with valuable life lessons.
People have been greatly impacted by this series. These seven books have aided individuals in overcoming obstacles. They have inspired many young people to love reading. They have demonstrated to us that it is always possible to turn a mistake around and make amends. They demonstrate that even the worst people can have a compassionate heart and that even the wisest people have made some evil mistakes. They have instilled in their readers a sense of morality that benefits them throughout their lives. These novels have demonstrated the power of friendship, brought people together, and sparked a desire for the intimacy that existed between Harry, Ron, and Hermione.
Watching these characters on the silver screen, there is just no other way to describe the characters—they are flawless. Despite being mistreated by his own family, Harry, an orphan, had a kind heart. He is a model hero, nothing less. He is courageous, kind, loving, tenacious, persistent, and much more. He was human and kind despite having a non-typical upbringing. He demonstrated his strength of character by remaining modest even after accepting his fame.
Without a doubt, Ronald Weasley is a true best buddy. He is spontaneous, hilarious, lovely, loyal, and—above all—a very practical buddy. Hermione Granger, in addition to being smart and witty, is also a fantastic best friend.
I can’t help but cry when I read the novels because of how wonderfully they depict their sacrifices for one another, their strength in trying times, their solidarity in the face of peril, and their trust in one another.
This is why all of this is important and why we are still discussing these novels and still watching the Potter films on the loop twenty-six years later.
(The views expressed are the writer’s own)
Smita Singh is a freelance writer who has over 17 years of experience in the field of print media, publishing, and education. Having worked with newspapers like The Times of India (as a freelancer), National Mail, Dainik Bhaskar, and DB Post, she has also worked with Rupa& Co, a book publishing house, and edited over 30 books in all genres.
She has worked with magazines like Discover India and websites called HolidayIQ and Hikezee (now Go Road Trip). She has also written for Swagat (former in-flight magazine of Air India), Gatirang (magazine of Maruti Udyog), India Perspectives (magazine for Ministry of External Affairs), and Haute Wheels (magazine of Honda).
After turning freelance writer she wrote on art and architecture for India Art n Design. She also worked for Princeton Review as a full-time Admissions Editor and then IDP Education Private Limited as an Application Support Consultant. Smita has her own website called bookaholicanonymous.com which supports her love for books and reading!
You can reach her at: [email protected]