Final 'Potter' is brilliant, a gold mine

If you haven't heard of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, you have most likely been on a 24-month long sail in the middle of nowhere. The final installment of Potter is really great and very important, and in more ways than one.

Hallows Part 2 is definitely one of my favorites from the entire series. I have read through the series numerous times and have listened to the spectacular audiobooks over and over again, too, so believe me when I tell you that this final film is an excellent way to leave Harry and his friends. Everything necessary from the book was included, and no extraneous information was added--I think this might have been one of my favorite films because they had such a little amount of book to put up on the screen. (OK, OK, not little, but not as much as Order or Half-Blood Prince.)

The acting was perfect, as usual, and the timing of everything was excellently executed. You'll most certainly cry during Snape's pensive scene and get your heart-racing every step of the way as Harry gets closer and closer to finally facing his fate. As the credits start rolling, you'll feel that bittersweet tinge of satisfaction at the ending, yet sorrow that the adventure with Harry is all over. (Although, as mentioned by Brandon in the comments, the epilogue wasn't very well done . . . it looked like Daniel and Rupert and Emma were playing dress-up.) This series really is the Star Wars and Lord of the Rings of this generation, and for good reason. It is an absolutely genius story full of whimsy, humor, courage, suspense, friendship, philosophical dilemmas, and, of course, heart. After reading the six books or seeing the 7 films leading up to the finale, you cannot help but root for Harry and his friends. The universe created by Rowling is so special and unique and just . . . wonderful.

Perhaps it is for all of those reasons that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 is on its way to becoming the biggest movie ever. With $168.55 million on its opening weekend alone, Potter dethroned The Dark Knight as the biggest opening in box office history. It also set a record for midnight showings at north of $40 million, and an opening day gross of $92.1 million.

The Potter franchise has grossed $2.177 billion so far, which means that it most certainly has a chance at surpassing Star Wars' record $2.218 billion.

But will Part 2 be able to surpass Avatar as the biggest box office winner of all-time at $2.782 billion? I don't think so. After all, anyone who's into Harry Potter is going to most likely see it opening weekend. Word of mouth won't do much, since you aren't going to see the last movie of an eight-part series without having seen the first seven, which is the same reason that random moviegoers won't decide to see Potter on a whim. A year ago you knew whether or not you were gonna see Part 2, and you knew you were going to see it at the midnight showing, or at least opening day.

Potter just doesn't have that much staying power at the box office. The numbers from Part 1 speak for themselves:

Week 1: $169,969,028
Week 2: $57,531,613
Week 3: $21,687,764
Week 4: $11,512,852

As you can see, opening weekend was the biggest by far, so don't expect Deathly Hallows Part 2 to break anymore records . . .

Still, Harry Potter is a lasting franchise in both the literary and cinematic worlds. The universe that blossomed from J.K. Rowling's writing is one that will last for centuries--I'm sure of that. It is just too perfect and wonderful not to.

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'Pooh' Wrapped

As of this past Friday, February 10, Walt Disney Animation Studios' newest hand-drawn film Winnie-the-Pooh is in the can! Production has been wrapped, and now all that's left is a bunch of marketing and several months of waiting...

Although I don't entirely agree with their decision to release the film on the same day as the sure-to-be-blockbuster Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, I think it's still gonna be a smash hit--everybody loves Winnie-the-Pooh and Eeyore and Piglet, and seeing the refreshing return to the classic animation of the beloved Pooh cartoons of decades ago will lure both young and old audiences to theaters. Even so, the film cost under $40 million to make, and therefore its apparent that Disney doesn't need (or, frankly, expect) it to come out number one at the box office; a modest opening will easily make the film's budget back.

As if the film by itself wasn't super awesome enough, John Cleese will be narrating, Tom Kenny (Spongebob) will be providing the voice of Rabbit, and everyone's favorite elderly Pixarian, Bud Luckey, will be doing the voice for Eeyore! This is a great cast. This movie cannot come out soon enough...

The film is being directed by Stephen Anderson (Meet the Robinsons) and Don Hall and is set to be released on July 15, 2011.

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