The End of a Magical Era Is the Most Beautiful Thing You Can See in a Theater
By Rod Meyer
The New York Post
[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] is the best thing you can watch at the movies this year.
After experiencing it in 3D, I felt like the film was made with a checklist in hand, delivering the best possible experience in every department. From acting and direction to sound design, VFX, makeup, costumes, set design, action, editing, cinematography, and music, the movie excels across the board.
I wouldn't be surprised if [Deathly Hallows] repeated the historic feats achieved by [Titanic] and [The Lord of the Rings] and swept the Oscars this year.
Troy Armitage, Emma Watson, and Jamie Bell bring their A game as always, but it's the supporting cast that elevates the story even further. Alan Rickman, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, and Maggie Smith deliver performances so convincing that not once did I think of them as actors. They felt like real people living through an unforgiving and brutal world.
With this film, Alfonso Cuaron proves that he's unquestionably one of the best directors working today. [Y tu Mama Tambien] and [Children of Men] are two of the finest films of this century, yet somehow, Cuaron has managed to surpass even those masterpieces.
His direction is deeply intuitive. Characters rarely explain their emotions aloud, yet the audience always understands exactly what they're feeling. This is evident in scenes like the early Death Eater meeting led by Voldemort, or the heartbreaking moment near the end when Harry must make an impossible choice. The hollow, shattered look of despair on Troy Armitage's face in that scene will stay with me for a very long time.
The final hour of the film is its greatest triumph, which is saying something for a movie that runs nearly four hours. The Battle of Hogwarts may very well be the finest large scale fantasy battle ever put on screen. The CGI, especially when paired with the latest 3D technology, elevates the experience beyond spectacular.
Another highlight is the film's exceptional soundtrack, composed by none other than Troy Armitage himself. It was slightly jarring not to hear John Williams' iconic Hedwig's theme at the beginning, but given the darker tone of the story, the choice made perfect sense. As the film progressed, the score became utterly gripping. I found myself replaying it on Spotify the moment I got home.
The original song, Signs of the Time, written and performed by Armitage, is another standout. It carries immense emotional weight, both lyrically and musically, and I can't help but feel moved even when thinking about it now.
All in all, this is a film that demands to be experienced in a theater. It represents the very best of modern cinema, where classical filmmaking techniques blend seamlessly with cutting-edge technology to create something truly special.
I can already see that decades from now, this film will be remembered as the very definition of cinematic excellence.
The only drawback I can point out is that despite its four-hour runtime, the film doesn't contain a single dull moment, so if you have a weak bladder, make sure you go right before the movie begins.
(Break)
Riley stood near the front of a long line, tapping her foot impatiently. She'd been waiting for hours to get a ticket to [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows], but so far, she'd had no luck.
"Just a few more people, and then it'll be our turn," Krissy said anxiously. "I can't believe Harry Potter is ending."
"I can," Zoe, the third member of their group, replied calmly. "Everything good ends eventually, doesn't it?"
Riley sighed at that.
Until a few years ago, the three of them had been inseparable. Then they'd gone off to different universities and slowly drifted apart. The last time they'd been together was when they watched [Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince], nearly three years earlier. The only reason they'd agreed to meet for this movie was that they'd watched every Harry Potter film together since the very first one.
It felt right to finish the journey the same way it had begun.
"Hey, we're not over," Krissy protested quickly. "We just got busy with life. I'm sure we'll meet more often once our education's done."
Riley didn't really believe that, but she didn't want to say it out loud. She simply nodded.
At that moment, the couple ahead of them collected their tickets and stepped away from the counter.
"Three tickets for the next show of Harry Potter in 3D," Riley said urgently.
They'd originally planned to catch the morning show, forgetting just how insane opening day lines could be. Because of the rush, the afternoon show was their only option now.
The man behind the counter glanced at his screen, then looked up at Riley with mild surprise. "Looks like today's your lucky day. The next show has exactly three seats left."
The boy standing behind them groaned loudly, but Riley ignored him and paid as fast as she could.
Now all they could do was wait half an hour for the movie to begin.
"So what do you think?" Riley asked as they stood near the lobby. "The film's gotten universally great reviews."
"True," Zoe said, scrolling through her phone. "Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 99 percent rating. Even Metacritic's at 95, which is insane when you think about it. And as usual, CinemaScore is A+. It's one of the rare film series that's had consistently strong reviews from start to finish. I'd be shocked if this one was bad."
Krissy nodded eagerly. "Especially since Alfonso Cuaron's back. He set the tone with [Prisoner of Azkaban]. As much as I love the first two movies, I've wanted something darker for a long time. I'm already nervous about how they'll handle the deaths and the war. Reviewers keep saying the last hour is the most intense part."
More than four hours later, they finally walked out of the packed theater.
Riley had her head resting on Zoe's shoulder.
"Why didn't the reviewers tell us how emotional it was gonna be?" she sobbed.
Krissy patted her back gently. "There, there. It's gonna be fine. But it really was a great movie."
"Great movie?" Riley pulled away from Zoe and glared at her. "It was the best movie. I wanna watch it again tomorrow."
Krissy raised her hands defensively. "I thought you'd wanna give it a break, considering how much you cried."
Of course she cried. Riley had always been a crier.
"Doesn't matter," she said firmly. "I'll still watch it because it's the best. Do you girls wanna come, or should I go alone?"
Zoe and Krissy exchanged a glance before shrugging.
"I can go again," Zoe said with a small smile. "Let's see if the ticket counter's free now."
(Break)
"Cheers!" I raised my glass of coconut water high as most of the people around me did the same with some form of alcohol.
Moments later, everyone was chugging their drinks as if their lives depended on it. I simply looked around the room, my gaze drifting across the cast and crew. It was our last night together, a final celebration of the journey that had consumed so many years of our lives.
Some people might've called it premature, but I didn't. [The Deathly Hallows] was already the best-reviewed film of my career so far, even surpassing [The Dark Knight].
Sure, I'd received stronger individual praise for my performance as the Joker, but taken as a whole, Deathly Hallows came out on top. At least according to the critics. Personally, I still preferred [The Dark Knight].
That's when I noticed Dad speaking with the one person without whom none of this acclaim would've been possible. I made a beeline for him.
"Alfonso!" I pulled him into a tight hug and gave his back a cheerful pat. "You've made a masterpiece with this film."
"Thank you, Troy," he said, bowing his head politely once I released him. "I couldn't have done it without you or Steve. And thank you again for recommending me for the job."
I turned to Dad, my tone serious. "We need to run a strong campaign for Alfonso this awards season. We've got a great film on our hands, and if we market it right, we could win big."
Dad nodded thoughtfully. "You're right. After [The Dark Knight], the Academy's trying to present itself as more open to fantasy films. If they snub [The Deathly Hallows] as well, it'd cause an uproar. The campaign'll need careful planning, but it's absolutely doable."
Alfonso looked unconvinced. "You really think I could get a Best Director nomination?"
I shook my head. "I think you can win the whole bloody thing, not just get nominated. Your direction was incredible, and I'm saying that objectively. My assistant gave me a summary of the reviews, and almost everyone agreed your direction was the strongest part of the film."
Hearing that, Alfonso straightened a little. He'd received Oscar nominations before, but only for Screenplay and Editing. With the right push, this could be his first nomination as a director.
"You should get one for Best Actor too," he said, nodding toward me. "The editor and I cried multiple times watching your performance. You carried the film from beginning to end."
I dipped my head gratefully. "That's really kind of you, but I don't think the Academy'll be eager to give me another acting Oscar so soon. I only won one less than two years ago."
Dad, never one to be left out, added, "If not acting, then the music for sure. Both your original song and your score are massive hits. The records are flying off the shelves at record speed, and people are already comparing the score favorably to the one John Williams wrote for the first movie."
I smiled at that. "Thanks, Dad."
I turned back to Alfonso. "How's your next project coming along? I believe you were working on a space movie."
"I am," he said with a nod. "But the VFX is taking a long time to look realistic. I've hired real astronauts to help the artists create accurate footage, but it'll take time. Maybe a year or two before we're ready to shoot proper test scenes. Can I change your mind and get you to consider doing that film with me?"
I shook my head. "I'll say the same thing I said last time. Get me a script that isn't paper-thin, and I might consider it. I don't want to do a film that people watch only for the VFX. One [Avatar] was more than enough for me. I've got no intention of appearing in another movie like that."
He sighed softly. "I can't blame myself for trying."
I shrugged.
As much as I admired [Gravity] as a film, I didn't want to be part of it for one simple reason. Its rewatch value was low. Sure, audiences loved it in theaters, and Sandra Bullock delivered one of the finest performances of her career, but I wanted to make movies that held up beyond spectacle. That was something [Gravity] lacked.
At this point in my career, I didn't need to chase every box office hit. I wanted to focus on strong, story-driven films more than anything else. If I ever did a space movie, I'd rather do [The Martian] than [Gravity]. With the Harry Potter legacy finally behind me and more money in my bank account than I could ever spend in a hundred lifetimes, I had the freedom to choose my own path.
The world was my oyster.
"So you're not doing [Avatar 2]?" Dad asked curiously. "When I last spoke to Jim, he said he had ideas for a sequel, especially after how much money the first one made."
"I told him early on that I wouldn't do another Avatar movie," I replied. "He agreed at the time, and if he insists on making another one, I might do an extended cameo at most, but nothing beyond that."
Dad nodded. "That makes sense. Why give away the majority of the profits to Fox when we have a perfectly good studio of our own?"
We chatted a little longer about movies and my upcoming projects before I excused myself to greet the rest of the cast and crew.
I might've still been at the party, but my thoughts were already back in California, where Scarlett was waiting for me.
(Break)
[Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] would make money; that was a given fact. But no one expected it to make as much as [Avatar] or even [The Dark Knight], and the reason was obvious.
"It is too damn long," Film expert Robert Karpovsky said sagely in a TV interview. "In the era of social media, people don't have the patience to sit for that long a movie, and then come back again and again. And a movie becomes a superhit only due to the repeat viewers. Not to mention, longer screentime means fewer showings. Theaters could easily show twice as many shows for a 2-hour movie."
He was just one such analyst among many more who had the same idea. They would all soon be proven catastrophically wrong.
The film opened in 4,650 theaters across North America, one of the widest releases ever attempted for a feature of that length. Select locations were equipped with scheduled intermissions, extended concession staffing, and advance seating blocks that allowed audiences to reserve entire rows weeks ahead of time. From the moment tickets went live, theater servers buckled under the strain.
In most big cities, opening-night shows sold out within minutes.
The scale of anticipation was unlike anything the industry had witnessed before. This was not simply the final installment of a franchise. It was the closing chapter of a story that an entire generation had grown up with. Children who had read the first book in school were now adults taking time off work to attend midnight premieres.
When opening day arrived, crowds began lining up outside theaters before sunrise.
The response was immediate.
On its first Friday, [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] collected an unprecedented $96 million, the highest single-day gross ever recorded at the time. Rather than dropping as expected, attendance surged on Saturday as families and long-time fans filled matinee and evening shows alike, pushing the daily total past $102 million. Sunday brought in another $82 million, giving the film a staggering $280 million opening domestic weekend.
Even with its extended runtime, it had shattered every previous opening record.
By the end of its first full week, the North American total stood at $345 million.
What surprised industry observers most was not the size of the opening, but the reaction inside the theaters. Audiences did not rush for the exits when the credits rolled. Many remained seated in silence, absorbing the weight of the ending. Others applauded. Some cried openly. In countless screenings, people hugged their friends and family, and sometimes even strangers, as the lights slowly came back on.
That emotional response spread quickly.
Word of mouth moved faster than any marketing campaign. Viewers described the experience as exhausting in the best possible way, four hours that felt earned rather than excessive. A once-in-a-lifetime cinematic experience. Repeat viewings became common, with fans returning to catch details they had missed the first time.
Like Severus Snape's reaction to Voldemort killing Charity Burbage right in front of him, or the moment Bellatrix's hair fell on Hermione, or how it was hinted at the Malfoy Manor that Draco's wand would play an important role in the story.
In its second week, the film experienced a drop, but a far gentler one than expected. It collected $145 million, maintaining full houses during evening shows and dominating premium formats. IMAX screenings remained sold out well into the weekdays, something rarely seen beyond opening weekends.
By the end of its second week, the domestic total had crossed $490 million.
The third week marked the moment when the film's endurance became undeniable. While most blockbusters begin to fade by this point, [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] continued to pull in massive crowds, adding another $82 million. Theaters reported strong attendance from viewers who had deliberately waited for less crowded screenings, treating the film not as a casual outing, but as an event they wanted to experience properly.
The fourth week brought in an additional $52 million, pushing the first-month North American total to just under $625 million.
By then, the narrative had shifted.
The conversation was no longer about whether a four-hour film could succeed. It was about how high it could climb.
Internationally, the effect was even more dramatic.
Harry Potter had always been a global phenomenon, but the decision to release the finale as a single epic resonated deeply with international audiences. In many countries, the story had been read, translated, and reread. The idea of experiencing the story in one sitting transformed the film into something closer to a cultural farewell.
The United Kingdom led the charge outside North America, delivering an extraordinary $165 million. Japan followed with $98 million, where repeat viewings became common among dedicated fans. Germany brought in $76 million, Australia $71 million, and France crossed $60 million with ease.
Strong performances continued across South Korea, Italy, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico, each contributing well beyond industry expectations.
By the time the theatrical run concluded, [Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows] had amassed $823 million in North America alone.
Internationally, it soared past $1.512 billion.
The final worldwide total settled at an astonishing $2.335 billion, which was the second-highest-grossing movie of all time, only behind [Avatar], another of Troy Armitage's films.
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AN: Check out my second story, 'Swimmer to Superstar (A Hollywood SI)'.
Link: www(dot)fablefic(dot)com