Days after the trailer debut of HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter series, audiences seem to have been bitten by the nostalgia bug. They’re returning to watch the original theatrical films on HBO Max, revealing the unambiguous power of IP. HBO is producing the new series primarily because of the brand’s immense popularity, which could dwindle as its original fans outgrow it. The new show will presumably recruit younger audiences and take them on a decade-long journey with characters that the millennials grew up with. It will, however, also inspire cross-pollination on the HBO Max platform, as can be seen already with the impact that the trailer has had on the earlier Harry Potter movies.
The show will debut around Christmastime, and the plan is for each season to cover the events of one book. Series author J.K. Rowling wrote seven novels in total, although the final installment was broken into two parts for the film adaptation. Eight movies in total were released between 2001 and 2011, grossing approximately $7.7 billion worldwide and turning stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson into household names. The new series arrives in wildly different times, when Rowling isn’t as universally beloved as she used to be because of her perceived anti-trans views. However, HBO has made clear it wants her to be closely involved in the upcoming show, which is being touted as a more faithful adaptation of the books than the films were.
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The New ‘Harry Potter’ Show Will Aim to Broaden the Franchise’s Audience
That said, for a certain generation, there can be no alternative to the Harry Potter film series. Shortly after the trailer launch, audiences pushed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone — the first film of the theatrical series — back into the domestic top 10 charts of VUDU and HBO Max, according to FlixPatrol. The show’s first season will cover the same story, and its trailer has already drawn comparisons — both favorable and unfavorable — to the first film. Widely acclaimed, the movie was directed by Chris Columbus. It grossed $1 billion worldwide against a reported budget of $125 million, and currently holds a “Certified Fresh” 80% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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November 16, 2001
- Runtime
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152 minutes
- Director
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Chris Columbus
- Writers
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Steve Kloves
- Producers
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David Heyman, Duncan Henderson, Mark Radcliffe
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