Ten years of Harry Potter
Summary
Harry Potter is the highest-grossing film series of all time and with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Parts I & II still due to be released, box office domination looks set to continue.
As production draws to an end, it seems like the perfect moment to look back on the last ten years and the impact that Harry Potter has had on the UK Film Industry. The films are based on the best-selling series of books by British author J.K. Rowling (1). Joanne Kathleen Rowling published the first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, in 1997. Another six books were to follow and the final instalment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (2007) took worldwide sales figures for the series to over 400 million copies (2).
Warner Brothers bought the film rights to Harry Potter and filming on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone started at Leavesden Studios in October 2000. Directed by Chris Colombus (Mrs Doubtfire, Home Alone) the film went on to gross nearly $1bn at the box-office and introduced a whole new generation of British talent to the big screen. In particular; Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley) and Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter himself. A host of other British and Irish talent has gone on to appear in the films including Michael Gambon, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Helena Bonham Carter, Julie Walters and the late Richard Harris to name but a few.
A Box Office Success
All of the Harry Potter movies have been made in the UK employing thousands of UK crew and extras over the last decade. It is safe to say that no other series of films has had the same impact with the exception perhaps of James Bond. The first six Warner Brothers Harry Potter films have performed magically at the box office (see below), taking a total of $5,393M worldwide (3). It is the highest-grossing film series of all time averaging about $900M (4) a movie and with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows coming in two parts, the domination of the box office looks set to continue.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001, Chris Columbus) $969M
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002, Chris Columbus) $866M
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004, Alfonso Cuarón) $795M
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005, Mike Newell) $892M
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007, David Yates) $937M
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009, David Yates) $934M
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (David
Yates)
Release date November 2010 - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (David
Yates)
Release date July 2011
Technology has moved on considerably since Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was made and the final two instalments of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows are expected to be shown in 3D (5). Sargent-Disc has worked on each of the Harry Potter films and with Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire we reached our own milestone with the release of SD Online, our online payroll service.
'Since using SD Online it has made life a lot easier... The
employee section is brilliant and prevents me from pestering the
payroll girls! Sargent-Disc as a whole, are always a pleasure to
deal with.'
Angela Rowden - Warner Brothers
The Harry Potter films have been a phenomenal success and Sargent-Disc is proud to have played a small part in that story over the last ten years. We would like to congratulate Warner Brothers and everyone that has been involved in their making.
http://harrypotter.warnerbros.co.uk
(2) www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/jun/18/harrypotter.news
(3) www.imdb.com/boxoffice/alltimegross?region=world-wide
