By Sarah Sluis
One decade and eight films later, the Harry Potter series is drawing to a close. The first viewers of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 caught the film at midnight, and Film Journal's intrepid intern Katie O'Donnell was at Manhattan's AMC Loews Lincoln Square to document the best costumes. Nationwide, the midnight screenings shattered the previous midnight record. With over $43 million in the coffer just from midnight screenings, the final Harry Potter is well on its way to a blockbuster weekend with more record-breaking to come.
Members of the Quidditch teams Chudley Cannons and Holyhead Harpies, complete with their Swiffer brooms.
Hogwarts students
Harry Potter casting a spell...without pants.
Now that the fun is finally coming to an end, extra crowds are expected for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which is opening in 4,375 theatres. Many cineplexes are showing the movie on multiple screens, giving the movie an overall screen count of 11,000. Over 3,000 3D screens and 274 IMAX screens will help up the movie's overall box office. Critics have responded positively to the finale, giving it a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Harry Haun pronounced the brisk and action-filled finale an "emotional and exhilarating end."
Those too young for Harry Potter will enjoy Winnie the Pooh (2,405 theatres). Disney's been plugging the movie as a nostalgic return to hand-drawn animation. The idea of Winnie, Tigger, Piglet, and Eeyore rendered in computer animation is unthinkable. With a demographic of parents and kids no older than kindergarten or early grade school, Winnie the Pooh will have a hard time earning even $10 million, though tracking suggests an opening similar to Mr. Popper's Penguins teen-millions. Critics have pointed out, admiringly, that this is one kid's film that doesn't try to add in-jokes for adults. The gentle film stays "faithful to the original characters and material," Doris Toumarkine writes of the "delightful, no-frills" movie.
On the specialty front, my top recommendation is Director Errol Morris' Tabloid (14 theatres), which I wrote highly about when I saw it last year at the DOCNYC fest. Sex, kidnapping, Mormons, a beauty queen, and cloned dogs populate the documentary, one of the craziest true stories you'll ever hear. The dark religious comedy Salvation Boulevard (4 theatres) has Pierce Brosnan playing a preacher, with some uneven fun and more kidnapping hijinks. The literary adaptation Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (24 theatres) should please "female art-house patrons" according to Toumarkine. The quiet film hasn't gotten nearly as much as buzz as producer Wendi Murdoch's husband's problems with News of the World. That's too bad, since the movie caps off the tale of female friendship with a "sweet, deeply affecting, tear-inducing ending."
On Monday, we'll count the records Deathly Hallows Part 2 broke, and see if tykes and their parents turned out for their favorite honey-craving bear.
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