Harry Potter: A Look at a Successful Film Franchise

The story of Harry Potter started out as a series of books and escalated into one of the top film franchises of all time. There were seven books and eight films made out of the story of Harry and his friends. The films have grossed a total of $7,709,205,984 worldwide. The Harry Potter series is so immensely popular that you must be living under a rock to not know who he is. But for those who have, I’ll bring you up to speed.

Harry Potter was an average boy who found out he was actually a wizard at age 11. Ever since that fateful night he has gone on a whirlwind of adventures with his friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, to ultimately kill Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who is not only out to take over the wizarding world, but the muggle world too.

The first book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was published in 1997. The film adaption, however, was not released until November 16, 2001. It was ranked in the number one spot at the box office for the first three weeks after its release. After the fourth week, it started to steadily dwindle down on the box office charts.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second installment in the Harry Potter series, was released almost exactly a year later on November 15, 2002. This film did not do as well as the original installment, but it still did far better than many hoped, grossing $878,979,634 worldwide.

The next five films stayed in the $796K - $975K range for worldwide income. It was not until the final installment – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – did the worldwide gross jump to over one billion.

From these films came eight video games, countless Harry Potter products (such as an iPod), an interactive website where fans can immerse themselves into the tale (Pottermore), and even it’s own theme park, located in Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida.

With the books, the films and all other products, the Harry Potter brand has been estimated to be worth an astounding $15 billion.  

It is clear that the Harry Potter Franchise has made a lot of money, but the real question is why? How did this lonely boy make us love him so much? Why did fans camp out to get their tickets to the midnight premieres?

The main reason that Harry Potter did so well at the box office is because of all its faithful readers. The film’s popularity stemmed from the books. There are tons of films that come out every week that don’t produce the kind of fandom that Harry Potter has. The book drives the people to the theater.

Other top film franchises such as Batman, Spider-Man, Twilight, Lord of the Rings, and The Hunger Games have all done well because each franchise had a large fan base before the films even came out. It is very easy for a film to do well when they already have a large group of people who will go see the movie whether it is good or bad. Everyone wants to see their favorite book – or comic book – come to life before their very eyes. This happened with Harry Potter to a level far beyond the rest. 

The Harry Potter franchise is a model for any aspiring book writer. A great book will lead to a great film, and ultimately to a successful franchise (and a ton of cash). 

Top Five Romantic Comedies That You and Your Boyfriend Will Love

One of the best ways to spend a relaxing night in is to break out the popcorn and pop in a movie, but the question always is: what movie should I watch?

Whether you’re with your boyfriend, or it’s a night in with the girls, the go-to genre is almost always a romantic comedy. There’s enough comedy that your boyfriend won’t be continuously checking his watch waiting for the movie to be over, and they have enough romance to give you that warm, fuzzy feeling inside.

Since there is an overabundance of romantic comedies out there in the world, I have picked my top five that not only you will love, but your boyfriend (who absolutely refuses to watch The Notebook with you) will love too.

5. What’s Your Number?

Ally Darling (Anna Farris) comes to terms with the fact that the number of men she has slept with is not socially acceptable. She vows that the next person she sleeps with she will marry; however, after a few too many drinks, she sleeps with her ex-boss with a bizarre fetish. She realizes that this man cannot be her husband, so she goes on a search for all the men she has previously slept with in order to hopefully make one of them her husband so her “number” will not rise. With the help of Colin Shea (Chris Evans), she finds her true love.

With a raunchy script, What’s Your Number? is a great pick if you want a laugh. There are not too many sappy moments, but your heart will melt nonetheless. This movie is thick with comedy that will make your stomach sore from laughter by the end. 

4. Knocked Up

          

 

A drunken evening leading to a one-night stand between an unemployed Ben Stone (Seth Rogan) and a professional businesswoman, Alison Scott (Katherine Heigl), results in an unexpected pregnancy. The couple decides to give a shot at a relationship for the sake of their unborn child. There are a lot of laughs amongst the countless obstacles created from their polar opposite personalities with heartwarming moments sprinkled in to restore our faith in these characters.

This movie is not one of the most conventional romantic-comedies, but it is one that not only you will love, but one your boyfriend will love too. Ben Stone is not the most attractive or well-mannered male lead, but there is something in his character that makes us root for him. Alison Scott is the complete opposite from Ben, which is a perfect recipe for a great romantic comedy.

3. Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Devastated from his breakup with famous actress Sarah Marshall (Kristen Bell), Peter Bretter  (Jason Segel) decides to take a get-away trip to Hawaii only to find out Sarah is vacationing at the exact same resort with another man. With the help of Rachel Jansen (Mila Kunis), Peter learns to love again.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall is casted to perfection. Peter’s character is the opposite of manly. He is not afraid to cry or act desperate in order to get the girl, which means you are in store for some pretty funny scenes. With its full frontal male nudity and almost graphic sex scenes, this movie strays from the traditional love scenes of romance movies. It is not too heavy on the romance, but there are a few scenes that will satisfy your need. Overall, this movie perfect if you are looking for a good laugh without a bunch of sappy romance.

2. Just Go With It

Adam Sandler plays Danny Maccabee, a plastic surgeon who pretends to be married in order to get women to sleep with him, in this hilarious yet heartwarming movie. When he thinks he’s met the right woman, his plan backfires. In order to get the girl, he enlists Katherine Murphy (Jennifer Aniston) to pretend to be his about-to-be ex-wife. Through many hilarious twists and turns, Danny finds a way to end up with the girl.

Sandler is definitely not the most attractive or smooth man, which makes this movie comical in the fact that he is able to get all these beautiful women to fall for him. Aniston is extremely likable in this girl-next-door role that it makes it hard to not watch.

1. Friends With Benefits

Friends With Benefits tells the story of a couple, Dylan Harper (Justine Timberlake) and Jamie Rellis (Mila Kunis), who decide to have a completely platonic relationship… while having casual sex. However, keeping their relationship completely platonic proves to be not as easy as they expected.

This is my number one choice because the chemistry between the two characters is flawless. Justin and Mila work really well together in being a plausible couple. Woody Harrelson, who plays a charismatic Tommy Bollinger, steals the show with the most comedic scenes. Though there are some heartbreaking scenes, the director always broke the tension with either a really funny scene or a heartwarming scene to balance your emotions. Overall, Friends With Benefits made me laugh and cry throughout the entire movie.