For some younger generations, the question is as to how many Harry Potter movies are there? For us millennials, Harry Potter is part of our life because so many of us grew up reading the stories that J.K. Rowling concocted on napkins on her way home as she rode the subway to entertain her kid while she was on welfare. Nearly twenty years later, seven books and a bunch of movies later, Harry Potter became a cultural icon, a pop culture statement. And Gen Zers want to learn about it. And we are happy to explain the Potterverse to them.
It’s almost hard to believe that almost ten years have passed since the last Harry Potter film. A whole saga that captivated fans around the world back in a day where facemasks weren’t required. Long lines at cinemas were a happy thing to do because you were getting a ticket to watch a premiere. And Warner Bros. studios were making films about a book series that made children around the world grab books once again at a time when Xboxes and PlayStations were the raves.
How many Harry Potter movies are there?
There are eight Harry Potter movies. Each movie corresponds to a volume written to the book series developed by British author J.K Rowling. However, the last book, titled “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was split into two feature-length films, parts one and two. Firstly, the initial film titled “Harry Potter and The Philosopher’s Stone” came out in 2001. Directed by Chris Columbus, it introduced us to child stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint in the roles of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley. They began their studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The second film, titled Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), was also directed by Columbus. The third film, 2004’s “The Prisoner of Azkaban,” featured Mexican Academy Award winner Alfonso Cuarón as the director. After that, it was Mike Newell’s turn for “The Goblet of Fire” in 2005. Finally, David Yates would pick up the rest of the films: “Order of the Phoenix” (2007), “Half-Blood Prince,” and the “Deathly Hallows” 2010 and 2011.
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Harry Potter Movies Changed the Cinema Game
When the last Potter movie came out, it changed the cinema game for Hollywood studios. Right after, every major studio started looking for books to adapt into movies, series, and the likes. And the concept of making a final feature film split into two segments —part one and two— became a staple. Twilight and The Hunger Games copycatting the concept into the screen —with their own accretions, albeit blatantly. The success of the Harry Potter franchise spawned amusement parks. It reignited the interest of children and teenagers in reading and made J.K Rowling a billionaire author.
J.K. Rowling’s unbelievable rise to fame
Before her rise to fame with the Harry Potter books, J.K. Rowling’s existence was a misery. An unemployed single mother was living under the British welfare system. She started toying with the idea of a child wizard jotting notes on napkins stuck on the subway train as a means to distract her child. With so many notes lying around, she decided to compile those into a larger idea, and then she pitched that into a book. And what a gamble would that be for the editor who picked it up and published it. After that, the thing became an instant best-seller, and the rest is history.
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What made Harry Potter books so popular was the combination of mystery and epic fantasy. Along with intimate character development of the typical British boarding school environment narrative. That was a winning combo. Rowling’s narrative, combined with all the easter eggs she lays around on each page, made everyone who grabbed the book read it from cover to cover and left them wanting for more at a time when books weren’t the hype in the market. So, we could say that J.K. Rowling hit a homerun at the right place, at the right time. And then Warner Bros. picked up the movie just at the right moment.
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