Harry Potter - History of the Books Harry Potter Harry Potter – History of the Books Series Overview Collectively, the seven Harry Potter books have sold nearly 500 million copies since the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997, making Harry Potter the bestselling book series of all time. Some estimates suggest that only The Bible and The Red Book have sold more copies than the series. The books have been translated into more than 70 languages, making them some of the most translated works of literature in history. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s/Sorcerer’s Stone J.K. Rowling finished the manuscript for Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1995. Represented by Christopher Little, the manuscript was rejected by dozens of publishers. Editors cited the story’s length and politically incorrect focus on boarding school as reasons for rejection. Bloomsbury eventually acquired the manuscript and ordered an initial print run of 500 hardback copies. Two hundred copies hit store shelves in June of 1997 with the remaining 300 sent to libraries. Later that year, the book earned the UK’s National Book Award and a gold medal in the Nestle Smarties Book Prize.

These awards, along with positive reviews and word of mouth, made the book well-known in a matter of months – ensuring it would receive larger additional printings. Within two years of its publication, Philosopher’s Stone had sold more than 300,000 copies in the UK alone. Before Philosopher’s Stone even began to appear in bookshops, several U.S. publishers engaged in a bidding war for its American publishing rights. In April of 1997, Arthur A. Levine from the Scholastic Corporation won the rights for $105,000 – more than Levine had ever paid any author, let alone a first-time novelist. Scholastic replaced the word “philosopher” to “sorcerer” in the title, fearing that American children might be put off by the former. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone debuted in the United States in October of 1998. In December, the book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for the first time. It remained there, generally in one of the top three slots for 79 consecutive weeks, until the Times created a separate list for children’s book list in 2000.

The novel garnered numerous honors in the U.S. including Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Book of 1998 award. As of 2012, Philosopher’s Stone has been translated into 74 languages, including Latin and Ancient Greek. More than 107 million copies of the novel have been sold worldwide. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets The second installment in the Harry Potter series was published on July 2, 1998 in the United Kingdom and June 2, 1999 in the United States. It quickly rose to the top of bestseller lists in both countries and has since been translated into 65 languages. Like its predecessor, Chamber of Secrets won the Nestle Smarties book prize as well as several other honors including the American Library Association’s Best Book for Young Adults, and the first-ever children’s book award from the Scottish Arts Council. As of 2012, the book has sold 77 million copies worldwide and been translated into 72 languages. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban Prisoner of Azkaban was published in July of 1999 in the United Kingdom, and three months later in the United States.

After the book sold more than 68,000 copies on the first day of its release in the U.K., American publisher Scholastic ordered an initial print run of half a million copies. The novel quickly took the number one spot on the New York Times bestseller list. This accomplishment meant that, for the first time, a third of the prestigious list consisted of children’s books, with Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets finishing out the top three slots. Along with other honors, Prisoner of Azkaban was named the Whitbread Book of the Year for 1999. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Goblet of Fire was released in the United States and the United Kingdom on July 8, 2000. J.K. Rowling originally intended to call the book “Harry Potter and the Doomspell Tournament” but changed the title some months before publication. Hundreds of bookstores in both countries stayed open until midnight to distribute the book to eager crowds, setting a precedent that would continue with all subsequent Harry Potter novels. With a combined first print of almost five million copies, Goblet of Fire smashed sales records by selling over three million copies in the first two days of its release.

In 2001, the novel won the Hugo Award for Best Novel. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix The fifth book in the Harry Potter series, Order of the Phoenix, debuted in the United State, United Kingdom and Canada at midnight on June 21, 2003. The three year gap between the fourth Harry Potter novel and Order of the Phoenix was the longest space between any two books in the series. The book broke the previous record for fastest selling novel of all time, held by Goblet of Fire, when it sold five million copies in the first 24 hours alone. Order of the Phoenix was named the American Library Association’s Best Book for Young Adults in 2003. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince was released at midnight on July 16, 2005 in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada. J.K. Rowling revealed the title to fans via her new website on June 24, 2004 and later used the site to unleash several more clues about the content of the novel.

Half-Blood Prince sold a record-breaking 11 million copies on the first day of its release, beating the previous record held by Order of the Phoenix. It won the British Book of the Year award for 2005, along with several other prizes and honors. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows The long-awaited final installment in the Harry Potter series was released on July 21, 2007. Prior to its public release, copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows were kept well guarded, with publishers spending millions of dollars on security to protect details about the plot from leaking. Bookstores were legally forbidden to open boxes containing the books until midnight. Despite the high security, there were several leaks of the books content – including photos of every single page appearing on illegal file sharing sites. However, the leaks did nothing to dent the books popularity, as over 15 million copies were sold worldwide. Once again, the series had absolutely smashed its own record for a final time.

TV Harry Potter Movies in Order 1-7: Hogwarts Through The Years Harry Potter Movies in Order 1-7: Hogwarts Through The Years 19 November 2010 5:37 PM, PST | MoreHorror | See recent MoreHorror news » Many fans are gathering for tonight's Harry Potter 7 opening (part one) and many are wondering for certain what the Harry Potter Movies in Order 1 7 are. Well, we have that information listed here and also the newest movie trailer below. So dust off your brooms and spell books and get watching the films in order. Watch the Warner Bros Pictures Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1: Soundtrack Video: » (From Popsugar . 8 December 2016, 1:25 PM, PST) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) (From MovieWeb . 27 December 2016, 5:48 PM, PST) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) Film Anniversaries To Look Forward To In 2017 (From Flickeringmyth .

1 January 2017, 3:15 AM, PST) IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy. Harry Potter (film series) | Harry Potter Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Harry Potter (film series) Share Ad blocker interference detected! Wikia is a free-to-use site that makes money from advertising. We have a modified experience for viewers using ad blockers Wikia is not accessible if you’ve made further modifications. Remove the custom ad blocker rule(s) and the page will load as expected. This article is not part of the Harry Potter universe . This article covers a subject that is part of the real world, and thus should not be taken as a part of the Harry Potter universe. Harry Potter theatrical posters Beginning in 2001 , Warner Bros. Pictures began releasing adaptations of the Harry Potter books .

These films have proven to be very popular and, in less than a decade, the Harry Potter film series has become the highest-grossing motion picture series in history, surpassing the world-famous James Bond franchise . [1] Contents Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 5 (TBA) The first film was released in the U.S. as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. The film adaptation of Deathly Hallows was split into two parts, the first of which was released in November , 2010 , with the second part released on 15 July , 2011 . The final day of filming on Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was completed on Saturday 12 June , 2010. However, members of the cast were recalled for re-shoots of the Epilogue scene on 21 December , 2010. [2] On 12 September , 2013, Warner Bros. Entertainment announced that the Harry Potter franchise will be expanded with a new movie series, based on the adventures of the wizard Newton Scamander , writer of the famous Hogwarts textbook, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them .

The story for the initial film will be set in New York , 70 years before Harry's story. No firm date was set for the film's release as of its announcement. Cast Main article: List of Harry Potter cast members Thirteen actors (excluding doubles) appear in all eight films. They are: Warwick Davis as Griphook in Deathly Hallows: Part 1, and Filius Flitwick in the rest. Furthermore, as Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Deathly Hallows: Part 2 were filmed as one film, the following four actors were also present for the filming of all eight films (despite not appearing in Part 1): Alfie Enoch as Dean Thomas . Additionally, the following two characters appear in all eight films, but were not portrayed by the same actor in each one: Albus Dumbledore , portrayed by Richard Harris in the first two films, and Michael Gambon from the third onwards (as well as by Toby Regbo as a teenager); Peter Pettigrew , portrayed by Dex in the first three films (in the form of Scabbers the Rat), and Timothy Spall from the third onwards. Significance Harry Potter at the 2011 BAFTAs.

(Left to Right) Alfonso Cuarón, Mike Newell, Emma Watson, David Heyman, J. K. Rowling, Rupert Grint, David Barron and David Yates. Besides their record-breaking popularity, the Harry Potter film series, currently and once completed, are significant in several areas: The close involvement of its author, J. K. Rowling , in many aspects of production, including story consultation and casting. The fact that, with the exception of Albus Dumbledore , whose actor needed to be recast due to the death of the original, all major ongoing characters will have been played by the same actors for the entire series. A few supporting players have been recast over the years, however. The conclusion of the series marks the first time a book series of this length, involving an ongoing story arc, has been adapted for film in its entirety, and without profound changes being made to the original storyline. The book series and film series were released over a ten year period. The Philosopher's Stone was first published in the UK in 1997, with the final book The Deathly Hallows published in 2007.

Likewise the first film was released in 2001 and the series concluded in 2011 with the eighth and final film. Each film in the series has been released to critical and financial success worldwide. Logo history Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and director Chris Columbus on the Philosopher's Stone set The Harry Potter logo's design is based on the typeface used for the American editions of the books. In the first two films, directed by Chris Columbus , it was golden, however Alfonso Cuaron , the director of Prisoner of Azkaban changed the logo's colour to silver to reflect the films darker atmosphere. This was used in later films as well. In every film but Philosopher's Stone and Prisoner of Azkaban, the Harry Potter logo appears floating slowly from background to foreground, usually through a sea of clouds. In the other two films, the logo flies in from the foreground, stops as it is illuminated, then flies back into the foreground. From Chamber of Secrets onward, the title sequence begins with the Warner Bros. logo fading in and slowly drifting in from the background through a sea of clouds.

Films Philosopher's Stone Rupert Grint, Daniel Radcliffe and director Chris Columbus on the Chamber of Secrets set In Philosopher’s Stone, the background is a generic patch of stormy clouds, and the logo is metallic gold. This is the first instance in which the title is not accompanied by Hedwig 's Theme. Instead, the theme is played with the Warner Bros. Pictures logo, which is not shown as part of the title sequence. Chamber of Secrets In Chamber of Secrets, the background is the sky above Privet Drive at sunset. Chamber of Secrets is the only film to depict the Warner Bros. Pictures logo in its original colour scheme. Because of the blue background of the logo, it is animated to turn on its "back" so the camera does not "go through" it. In every subsequent film, the blue background is omitted, and the camera passes between the letters of the logo. Prisoner of Azkaban The cast on the Prisoner of Azkaban set with the director Alfonso Cuarón. Prisoner of Azkaban is the only film to date that does not depict either the WB or Harry Potter logo against a sea of clouds.

They are instead set floating in front of 4 Privet Drive , illuminated by wand light. Another noticeable difference is that the letters of the Harry Potter logo float around haphazardly. Different from the first two films, and continuing on in the next, the logo is coloured silver. Goblet of Fire In Goblet of Fire, the logo appears in the sky directly above Tom Riddle Snr 's grave. Also, the subtitle materialises with a blue flame effect. Order of the Phoenix Daniel Radcliffe and director Mike Newell on the Goblet of Fire set In Order of the Phoenix, the logo drifts through what appears to be blue smoke or fog instead of actual clouds. This logo is grey and stone-textured instead of metallic, a trend that continues in the following films. Order of the Phoenix is also the first film to use a new font for the subtitle, something that also carries over to the newer films. The background is generic, but dissolves into a sunny sky over Little Whinging . Half-Blood Prince In Half-Blood Prince, the clouds are grey, with lightning streaking through them.

The WB and Harry Potter logos are intercut by a short scene showing the aftermath of " Duel in the Ministry Atrium " from Order of the Phoenix. After the Harry Potter logo appears, the background dissolves to an identical stormy sky reflected in the Swiss Re Tower. The cast on the Order of the Phoenix set with the director David Yates. Half-Blood Prince is the first film to use the new Harry Potter logo with the re-designed letter P (see below). This new logo continues to be in use in subsequent films. Deathly Hallows: Part 1 Bonnie Wright, Daniel Radcliffe and director David Yates on the Half-Blood Prince set In Deathly Hallows: Part 1, The WB logo is accompanied by the screeching sound RAB's locket makes. As it passes into the foreground, the metal rusts and deteriorates. Breaking the series' tradition, a full scene - including a monologue by Rufus Scrimgeour and a montage featuring the three protagonists - separates the title sequence into parts. The Harry Potter logo then appears, floating through the monochromatic clouds above Malfoy Manor.

This is the second instance in which the Harry Potter logo is not accompanied by " Hedwig 's Theme" (which again plays with the WB logo). Instead, a new theme is used, "Snape to Malfoy Manor", which segues into the next scene. Deathly Hallows: Part 2 In Deathly Hallows: Part 2, The logo sequence is more different than the 7 previous films where it shows the final scene of Part 1 in which Voldemort has the elder wand and tests to the clouds and then the scene flashes over to the WB logo where it is surrounded by dark clouds and as it passes, we then see the Hogwarts castle no longer colourful but affected by Dementors. We see Hogwarts students marching and Snape standing with a sad face in regards to what he has done to Hogwarts. Then we see the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 logo floating through the clouds and followed by a shot of Dobby's grave. In other media In promotional materials, such as film posters and merchandise, and on DVD/Blu-ray covers, the Harry Potter logos appear differently that their film counterparts.

Philosopher's Stone For Philosopher’s Stone, the lettering has a different bevel effect and texture from any other instance of the logo. It also has a white glow effect around it. Chamber of Secrets 'Harry Potter': 25 Surprising Facts About the Wizard's Wands, Props | Hollywood Reporter 'Harry Potter': 25 Surprising Facts About the Wizard's Wands, Props 5:58 PM PDT 7/8/2011 by Stuart Kemp ©Warner Bros./courtesy Everett Collection Check out the second installment of THR's behind-the-scenes look at the Warner Bros. franchise. The eighth and final installment of Warner Bros.' Harry Potter movie franchise opens July 15. The films have made more than $6 billion at the global boxoffice while worldwide book sales of the Potter saga total more than $450 million. HARRY POTTER REALLY WORKS HIS WAND 1. Daniel Radcliffe wore out 60-70 wands during the making of the Harry Potter films. 2. Every wand that you see in any of the Harry Potter films is created on-site. No two wands are alike…not even the Weasley twins’! 3.

Wands are 13-15 inch long and haven’t changed in length, so the actors have had to grow into them over the years. 4. Dumbledore’s wand was a very elaborate design, even though its significance of being the Elder Wand was far from being known when made. REVIEW: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 EYEGLASSES, TITANIUM BROOMS, AND THOUSANDS OF COINS 5. Radcliffe has been through 160 pairs of glasses during the shooting of all the Harry Potter films 6. Forty versions of Salazar Slytherin's locket had to be created to accommodate Ron and Harry's failed attempts to destroy it. 7. Five 32-ton trucks' worth of polystyrene were needed to create all the rubble for Deathly Hallows. 8. To keep brooms light-weight and aesthetically on spec, aircraft-grade titanium is employed in their structure. 9. 900 Memory Vials were made for the cabinet in Dumbledore’s Office. 10. 250 paintings have been created for the Marble Staircase 11.

Producers David Heyman and David Barron were immortalized in portraits for the Marble Staircase. 12. 210,000 coins were made for the Gringotts bank scene for the final two films alone. A TRAIN NAMED OLTON 13. The steam engine's real name is the Olton Hall and it was built in April, 1937. 14. It is designated "Hall" class steam locomotive no. 5972. 15. Max Speed – chimney first: 65mph, tender first 45mph 16. It can pull a maximum of 27,275 pounds behind it. 17. The engine is 13 feet and 5/8 inches high and is 8 feet, 11 inches wide. 18. The carriages date back to the 1950s. 19. Number of carriages - four (although could be increased if needed) 20. The 78-ton, four-carriage train was brought in from Carnforth, Cumbria 21. In railway speak, the actual name of the engine in Harry Potter is the 'Hogwarts Castle'.

The 'Hogwarts Express' is the name of the service route that takes students from Platform 9¾ to the school. WHERE THE MAGIC HAPPENS: LEAVESDEN STUDIOS 22. Leavesden Studios was originally built as an aerodrome in 1940. Many airplanes were built there at the tail end of World War II. 23. As it is an old aerodrome, none of the stages are soundproofed. 24. The 200 acre Studio houses over ½ million square feet of covered production space and nine giant stages in excess of 145,000 sq. ft. The runway is 3000 feet long. 25. Apart from the Potter series, movies filmed here include Sleepy Hollow, Golden Eye, Star Wars Episode 1 The Phantom Menace and Mortal Kombat Annihilation Harry Potter Franchise Box Office History - The Numbers Weekend Wrap-Up: Moana Sails to Victory with $28.27 million December 6th, 2016 As expected , Moana dominated the weekend box office chart with a $10 million lead over its nearest competitor earning $28.27 million.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them also did well with $18.12 million. Unfortunately, those were the only two films to earn more than $10 million over the weekend and this left the overall box office down a massive 48% from last weekend to just $95 million. Worse still, this is 2.8% lower than the same weekend last year . I’m actually surprised it’s that close, because there were four films that earned more than $10 million last year, including the biggest new release, Krampus . 2016 was able to crack $10 billion before the weekend and has a very substantial lead at $10.12 billion to $9.66 billion for 2015. More... Weekend Wrap-up: Moana Takes on Beast Over Thanksgiving Weekend November 29th, 2016 As expected , Moana earned first place over the Thanksgiving weekend and became the biggest true opener in the holiday’s history. (Technically Frozen opened in limited release the week before and as we learned from Futurama , technically correct is the best kind of correct.) The film was a little more front-loaded than expected and nearly matched our predictions.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them held on better than predicted and that one-two punch helped the overall box office grow 17% from last weekend to $184 million, over the three-day portion of the weekend. This is nearly identical to the same weekend last year ; in fact, it was up by less than 1%. Year-to-date, 2016 has pulled in $9.99 billion. 2016 will soon become the eighth year in a row to reach the $10 billion milestone. This is 5.0% / $470 million above last year’s pace. I’ve been saying for a while that we needed to enter December with a $300 million advantage over 2015 in order to come out ahead at the end of the year, so this is great news. More... International Box Office: Fantastic has a Beast of an Opening with $143.3 million November 24th, 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them opened in first place on the international chart with $143.3 million in 63 markets.

The film had the biggest opening of the Harry Potter franchise in 16 of those 63 markets, but ironically not in the U.K., where it had its biggest opening. The film debuted in first place there with $18.90 million in 666 theaters. This is the third best in the franchise behind the two Deathly Hallows films. Some of the markets where Fantastic Beasts set the franchise record include South Korea, where it made $10.64 million on 1,431 screens over the weekend for a total opening of $14.15 million. It did the same in Russia with $10.29 million on 1,173 screens and in Brazil with $6.4 million. More... Weekend Predictions: Moana Takes on Beast Over Thanksgiving Weekend November 23rd, 2016 Thanksgiving weekend is one of the most lucrative weekends of the year and this time around we could have a relatively close battle between a new release, Moana , and last week’s number one film, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them . At least that’s what analysts thought, before we saw the preview numbers.

None of the rest of the new wide releases are expected to do much. Allied could become a midlevel hit, but I would be surprised if its budget was only midlevel. Bad Santa 2 is on its way to becoming another comedy sequel that bombs. If Rules Don’t Apply ’s previews are any indication, it will become one of the worst box office performers of the year. This weekend last year , The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 2 beat The Good Dinosaur rather easily. However, Fantastic Beasts started slower than Moana, so I think we will have a new winner this week. More... Weekend Wrap-Up: Fantastic Beast Can’t Lift Box Office November 22nd, 2016 As expected , Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them dominated the box office earning nearly as much as the rest of the films combined. However, it was unexpectedly weak earning just $74.40 million. In fact, every film we talked about on Thursday’s predictions underperformed and the overall box office was down to $158 million. Granted, “down” in this case is only off by 0.1%, but considering we were expecting significant growth, even a little drop is distressing.

Worse still, the box office is off by 8.9% from this weekend last year . Again, we were expecting growth in the year-over-year comparison, so a drop this big really hurts. Year-to-date, 2016 has pulled in $9.49 billion, which is 5.9% or $540 million better than last year’s pace. That said, I wouldn’t panic, as Moana should help the box office bounce back this weekend. More... Weekend Estimates: Fantastic Beasts Makes Fantastic-ish $75 Million November 20th, 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is doing everything Warner Bros. could have wished for this weekend, posting a lively $75 million opening in the US, hitting $143.3 million internationally for a global opening over $200 million, and getting a A CinemaScore that should give it positive word of mouth going into Thanksgiving. For a franchise reboot, that’s a lot of reasons to be happy, although its opening is well below the openings enjoyed by the original Harry Potter franchise .

The worst of those, Chamber of Secrets , opened with $88 million over three days ( Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince both technically had slower weekends than Chamber of Secrets, but both of them opened on Wednesday, and they still did over $75 million Friday–Sunday). More... Friday Estimates: Fantastic Dominates Charts, but with just $29.7 million November 19th, 2016 As expected , Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them easily earned first place on Friday . However, it only managed $29.7 million, which was well below expectations. This is the worst opening day in the Harry Potter franchise since The Chamber of Secrets . (The two films are so close that the final figure for Fantastic Beasts could be the worst in the franchise.) The reviews are weaker than the franchise as a whole, but its CinemaScore is an A and that’s roughly average for the previous 8 Harry Potter films. The film should still earn between $70 million and $75 million over the weekend, depending on if the high CinemaScore can overcome the Fanboy Effect. I would choose to be optimistic, but that hasn’t worked out this weekend. More...

Thursday Night Previews: Fantastic Doesn’t Quite Live Up to Its Name with $8.75 million - Updated November 18th, 2016 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them pulled in $8.75 million during its midnight shows last night. That’s good, but a little lower than expected and not even the best of the fall so far. It was beaten by Doctor Strange , which earned $9.4 million just two weeks ago. Worse still, Fantastic Beasts' reviews have fallen to 74% positive. That’s still good for a blockbuster release, but it is the lowest in the Harry Potter franchise and will likely hurt the film’s box office performance over the weekend. It should still make over $80 million this weekend, but it will be close. We might have to revise that prediction lower tomorrow when we have Friday’s estimates. More... Weekend Predictions: Will Fantastic Be Fantastic? Or will it merely be a Beast at the Box Office? November 17th, 2016 At the beginning of the month , we thought there would be four wide releases / expansions this week.

However, it turns out there will be just one, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them . The lack of wide releases should help it at the box office and there is a small chance it could top $100 million over the next three days. While there are no other wide releases, there are a few films opening or expanding semi-wide. Of these, The Edge of Seventeen is the only one with a realistic shot at the top five. It is earning the best reviews of the week and did earn a lot of film festival buzz, so that should help. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk had an amazing opening in limited release last weekend, but it will likely struggle as it expands into just over 1,000 theaters this weekend. Finally there’s Bleed for This , which is expected to barely make the top ten. This weekend last year , the final installment of the Hunger Games franchise opened with just over $100 million. There’s a slim chance Fantastic Beasts will do the same. Even if it doesn’t, the depth this year is much better than last year and that should help 2016 win in the year-over-year comparison. More...

2016 Preview: November November 1st, 2016 October turned out to be a mixed month. On the one hand, not one movie earned $100 million, or even came close. However, it was also a more steady month than last October and the last two weeks really helped 2016 in the year-over-year comparisons. In November, we have five films with at least a shot at $100 million, three of which should have no trouble getting to at least $200 million. A little while ago, I thought Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them would be the biggest hit of the month, but the buzz took a hit recently. More on that below. Meanwhile, Doctor Strange ’s reviews are currently 90% positive and that should help it out at the box office. The third very likely $200 million hit is Moana . There is certainly precedent for an animated movie to be a monster hit at this time of year, but there is also a lot of competition. Last November was similar in strength, with five films that earned more than $100 million and two films that earned more than $200 million.

None earned more than $300 million, so that’s the goal for this November. If we can get one $300 million and / or three $200 million movies over the month, then it will be seen as a victory. More... Dory Finds its way to $1 Billion October 13th, 2016 Last weekend, Finding Dory became the 27th film to earn $1 billion worldwide . In doing so, it created a lot of interesting tidbits worth talking about. But first, the history of $1 billion movies. More... Weekend Estimates: Batman v Superman hits March record $170 milion March 27th, 2016 Batman and Superman not only had to fight each other this weekend, but also mediocre reviews. They have come through in some style, however, posting a record for March of $170.1 million, according to Warner Bros. ’ Sunday morning estimate.

Our model has the film coming a little below that mark, at $165 million or so, which might mean it won’t quite top Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II ’s $169 million, which is currently the studio’s best ever weekend. But the fact that we’re comparing the movie to the Harry Potter franchise is nothing but good news for them. More... 2015 Preview: November November 1st, 2015 October has come to an end and everyone should be happy about that. Except for The Martian , there were no serious hits that opened last month. There were more outright bombs than even midlevel hits. Fortunately, October of last year wasn't spectacular either, so 2015 maintains a healthy lead over 2014. Even more fortunately, November looks fantastic. There are four films that have the potential to earn $200 million or more. The biggest of these is the final Hunger Games movie, which should reach $400 million. Spectre has a real shot at $300 million and could be the biggest hit in the franchise . Meanwhile, nearly every November there's an animated kids movie that becomes a monster hit.

This year, The Peanuts Movie and The Good Dinosaur are both aiming for that box office milestone. The last time we didn't have a family film that earned at least $100 million in November was 2011 and that's because there were four family films that opened in the final two weeks of the month and that much competition meant they cannibalized each other. Both of these has a shot at $200 million and if neither of them reached $200 million, I would be shocked. Meanwhile, last November was a good month at the top with three monster hits: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 , Big Hero 6 , and Interstellar . However, after those three films, there were not much positive to talk about. It really looks like 2015 will match 2014 at the top, plus it could have better depth. I might be a little too optimistic, but I think November is going to be a great month at the box office. More... International Box Office: Jurassic’s Worldwide Success June 18th, 2015 Jurassic World completed the trifecta over the weekend.

Not only did the film have the largest domestic debut, it broke the same record internationally and worldwide . The film pulled in $315.61 million on 19,612 screens in 66 markets for a worldwide opening weekend of $524.42 million. It broke the previous international and worldwide records that were held by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II . It is also the first film to open with more than $500 million worldwide and it is just a matter of when, not if, it will top $1 billion globally. The only downside is the number of markets it has yet to open in, which is one. It debuts in Japan in August and it might be the biggest global hit of the year before it even gets there. More... 2014 Preview: November October 31st, 2014 October was a better than expected month with the overall box office keeping pace with October of 2013, for the most part. (The last weekend will be terrible, but that's because of Halloween.) We were able to close the gap somewhat in the year-over-year comparison, at least by a little bit.

So how will November do compared to October. Let's put it this way. There are only seven films opening wide this month. Of those, Beyond the Lights will likely not make an impact at the box office. Every other film has at least a reasonable shot at $100 million. More than half the of the films opening this month could hit $200 million. Leading the way will be The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 , which could hit $400 million. The only problem is when book franchises split the final installment into two parts, the first part tends to be weaker at the box office. Interstellar is a big question mark. On the low end, it could make just over $100 million, while on the high end, just over $300 million is within reach. That's a wide range of expectations. On the downside, last November , there were two movies to reach $400 million: Catching Fire and Frozen . On the other hand, there was only one other movie to make more than $100 million, Thor: The Dark World , so perhaps the depth this year will help 2014 come out ahead in the year-over-year comparison. More...

Featured Blu-ray / DVD Review: Neighbors September 22nd, 2014 This summer was terrible at the box office with no $250 million hits throughout the summer until Guardians of the Galaxy opened in August. That said, there were a number of smaller movies that did quite well at the box office. Neighbors , for instance, cost less than $20 million to make, but pulled in $150 million at the box office. Was it a hit because of its quality? Or did it benefit from the weakness in the tentpole releases? More... Analysis: Sandra Bullock is Hollywood’s Top Actress June 30th, 2014 With the recent weak performance of films such as Transcendence and Edge of Tomorrow at the box office, there’s been a lot of talk recently about how much actors and actresses are really worth to a film.

The poor performance of these films hasn’t come as a huge surprise to followers of the Bankability Index , which produces valuations considerably below the $20 million that Johnny Depp reportedly earned from his lead role in Transcendence, and we thought this is a good opportunity to look at what the Index says about the most valuable actors and actresses in the business. With Angelina Jolie making headlines for all the right reasons for her starring role in Maleficent , it seemed only fitting to start with an analysis of the most valuable actresses in Hollywood. For this chart, we’ve taken each star’s worldwide Bankability Index and divided it by the number of films they make each year to get an estimate of the average value they bring to a film, as of June, 2014. More... Weekend Wrap-Up: Captain America Reaches Milestone, Transcendence Sinks April 22nd, 2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier won the weekend box office race with a better than expected result and this helped it reach $200 million. Likewise, Heaven is for Real was surprisingly strong earning second place over the weekend, despite opening on Wednesday.

Unfortunately, none of the other new releases lived up to expectations and the overall box office fell 5% to $133 million. This was still 20% higher than the same weekend last year , boosting 2014's lead over 2013 to 8% at $2.92 billion to $2.70 billion. More... Weekend Predictions: Divergent Opinions on the New Releases March 20th, 2014 Another week, another pair of wide releases. That's becoming a common thing to say. It is also a good thing to say, because too many movies tend to hurt all films involved and it is much better to have one big release and the counter-programing film. This week the big release is Divergent , which the studio is hoping will be the start of a new franchise. The box office tracking for the film looks good, even if the reviews do not. The counter-programing this week is Muppets Most Wanted , which is also opening with a saturation level theater count and it looks to do as well as The Muppets did.

Last year there was also a strong one-two punch with The Croods topping Olympus has Fallen $43.64 million to $30.37 million. I'm not sure that Muppets Most Wanted will hold up its end of the bargain, but Divergent is poised for an opening of at least $50 million. It looks likes 2014 will again win over 2013. More... DVD and Blu-ray Releases for February 25th, 2014 February 24th, 2014 It's a very impressive week at the top of the new DVD and Blu-ray releases. There's not one, but two $200 million hits coming out this week. Likewise, there are not one, but two major Awards Season hits coming out as well. One film, Gravity , is in both groups. All three films, Gravity, Thor: The Dark World , and Nebraska , are all contenders for Pick of the Week. Gravity is the only one I didn't get a chance to review, but the Blu-ray Combo Pack or the 3D Combo Pack are clearly the Pick of the Week.

It's an amazing movie and the Blu-ray releases are loaded with extras. More... 2014 Preview: February January 31st, 2014 After a weak start, January rebounded and a couple of films on last month's preview cracked $100 million at the box office. Granted, Lone Survivor is technically a December release, but Ride Along will become one of the rare January releases to reach the century mark. Unfortunately, there doesn't appear to be too many February releases that have a real shot at $100 million. It is very likely that The Lego Movie will reach that milestone, but most of the rest of the movies will be lucky if they reach $50 million. Last February was very similar. We had one surprise $100 million hit, Identity Thief , plus a couple of solid midlevel hits, Warm Bodies , for instance. However, for the most part, the month was one miss after another. This means 2014 could continue its winning ways, or at the very least, shouldn't fall behind 2013's pace. More...

Contest: Game of Chance October 25th, 2013 There are three wide releases, but only two of them have any chance of becoming more than a midlevel hit. Free Birds is a digitally animated family film that has a very timely release, but it is also a second-tier CG animated film. Ender's Game is a $110 million film based on a book aimed at young adults. It is yet another film trying to tap into the vacuum left behind by Harry Potter . I don't think either of them will be big hits, but one of them has to be the target film. I think Free Birds will have better legs, but that Ender's Game will have a better opening. As such, it is the target film for this week's box office prediction contest. In order to win, one must simply predict the opening weekend box office number for Ender's Game . Whoever comes the closest to predicting the film's opening 3-day weekend box office (Friday to Sunday), regardless if they go over or not, will win a copy of The Conjuring on Blu-ray Combo Pack . To celebrate, we have Five Things to know about The Conjuring , in GIF form, starting with...

1) The Conjuring is directed by the acclaimed James Wan, the Australian-born director of the fright-fests Insidious and the Saw series. His Twitter handle is @CreepyPuppet. Say no more. Entries must be received by 10 a.m., Pacific Time on Friday to be eligible, so don't delay! More... September 14th, 2013 Top-grossing actors and actresses in leading roles Over the past two or so years, we've been working on one of the biggest projects we've ever undertaken: building out our database of acting and technical credits to include complete information on every acting role and significant technical credit for movies for which we have box office information. While work on this vast task continues (and will, of course, continue as long as films are being made), we have enough coverage of the industry now to start doing some serious analysis. Over the next month or two, I'll be looking at some of the things we've found and we'll be rolling out new features at The Numbers that take advantage of the dataset. This week, I'll look into how we are categorizing acting roles, and discuss the first charts in our new People Records section. More...

Weekend Estimates: Man of Steel Posts Biggest June Weekend June 16th, 2013 2013 has been a nervous time for Warner Bros. . After six straight years as the number one or number two domestic distributor, the studio's main franchise breadwinners, Batman , Harry Potter , Lord of the Rings and The Hangover are all coming to an end or already played out. They are running in third place for the year to date , and badly need a new money spinner if they are to avoid lean times in 2015 and beyond. This weekend they got their knight in shining armor, or, more accurately, Man of Steel . The reboot of the venerable Superman franchise will open this weekend with $113.08 million, a new record weekend in June and a huge shot in the arm for the studio. More... Blu-ray Sales: The Average Spider-Man January 8th, 2013 There were half-a-dozen new releases to chart on the November 11th edition of the Blu-ray sales chart . This includes The Amazing Spider-Man , which earned first place with 641,000 units / $14.37 million.

Its opening week Blu-ray share was 54%, which is impressive, but one has to assume the studio was hoping for more. Then again, the film is more than profitable enough to ensure a sequel. More... 2012 - Holiday Gift Guide - Part I November 23rd, 2012 This weekend is Thanksgiving and as always that means Black Friday and Cyber Monday plus 48 hours of shopping in-between. Unlike most years, I'm only halfway done with my Christmas shopping. So what recent, and not so recent releases are prime candidates for the perfect gift this year? Over the next month, we will go over several dozen possibilities with our annual Holiday Gift Guide, which is divided into into four sections. This week we start with Major Movie Releases. These are first run releases, franchise box sets, etc. However, before we get into the individual titles, we will start with an update on... More... Weekend Estimates: Breaking Dawn Posts 8th-Biggest Weekend November 18th, 2012 The beginning of the end for the Twilight franchise is here, and, as expected, big money is being made by Lionsgate/Summit .

While this installment doesn't look like it will break franchise records, Lionsgate is predicting a $141.3 million opening weekend, which will be the 8th-best of all time , assuming it holds up. New Moon will most likely remain the top opener for the franchise with $142.8 million, although it will be a close-run thing. Twilight will most likely end up the 5th-highest-grossing franchise at the domestic box office , behind only the "box office gods", Harry Potter , Star Wars , Batman and James Bond . More... Note: This list contains actors which appear in at least 2 movies of the franchise. Person

Question: How many films have been made in the Harry Potter series?
Answer: 8