Starting from 2000's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, after a decade of screenings, the little wizard waving his magic wand was about to reach the end on the big screen, and Harry Potter was about to face his final battle with Voldemort.
On the weekend before Thanksgiving, Trafalgar Square in London was decorated into a magical venue with oversized LED screens and giant posters. The grand premiere of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 attracted more than 30,000 fans from around the globe, all holding original books and placards, collectively "pilgrimaging."
Since entrance to the main venue for the premiere required a special fan wristband, many Potterheads had queued overnight to exchange for one.
After the premiere began, almost all the main creators stepped onto the red carpet.
Daniel Radcliffe, accompanied by Rupert Grint and Ralph Fiennes, looked handsome in suits. Emma Watson stunned in a sleeveless sheer gown and even generously blew kisses to the Potter fans while stepping onto the red carpet.
J.K. Rowling appeared in a strapless green gown. Helena Bonham Carter, who played the antagonist Bellatrix Lestrange, remained as distinctive as ever her clutch bag bore a big red heart, and her pink floral headpiece left a lasting impression.
Of course, many promotional stunts were featured during the premiere.
Emma Watson praised Daniel Radcliffe, saying, "No one but you could be Harry Potter," while he stated that tonight was not the end, and Harry Potter would be with him for life. The three leads tearfully hugged, overwhelmed with emotion.
J.K. Rowling, who had initially set this ten-year magical journey in motion, had long been packaged by Warner Bros. and the Harry Potter Studio as a media icon. In response to the unwavering global support from Potter fans, her only words were repeated gratitude. Even the main actors seemed quite sentimental; Emma Watson linked arms with her two co-stars and cried together.
Rowling's final words, "Hogwarts will always welcome you home," moved the entire audience.
No matter how you look at it, for fans who had waited ten years, this premiere was a bittersweet experience excited for its debut, yet dreading the final farewell.
"It's finally over!"
While posing for photos, Robin Grand finally complained to Duke, "I've sold ten whole years of my life to you!"
"Hey, Robin…" Duke gently embraced him in front of the camera and quietly reminded, "This isn't over yet."
Thinking about the contracts signed with the actors, Robin Grand had no choice but to reply, "Indeed, it's not over."
The actor contracts involved a large percentage of box office profit sharing. Neither Duke nor Warner Bros. wanted to divide that pie with actors like Emma Watson, who, to them, no longer held significant value.
Of course, J.K. Rowling wasn't in that category.
After arriving in London yesterday, Duke had a private meeting with J.K. Rowling. The famed female author had no intention of stopping here even though she already possessed a fortune that countless people envied.
The box office numbers of the Harry Potter film series were certainly shocking. But in the vast industrial chain driven by Harry Potter, box office revenue only made up a small part.
Previously, several Wall Street firms conducted investigations and found that the industrial chain built by Harry Potter had reached a scale of $200 billion. J.K. Rowling, the original author, had long become a billionaire. The three main actors in the films also earned substantial fortunes.
As one of the investors and top beneficiaries of the series, Duke knew that this claim was not exaggerated.
J.K. Rowling, once a destitute single mother who had even contemplated suicide, surely never imagined that one day she'd become richer than the Queen of England. Less than five years after the Harry Potter series debuted, she became the first person in human history to earn over $100 million solely from writing.
According to Duke's estimates, Rowling had earned at least $1 billion from this series.
As for the three young actors in the films, they too had considerable wealth. According to their contracts, if Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 surpassed $1 billion at the box office, the trio combined would receive no less than $60 million in profit-sharing...
In addition to that, the supporting cast members could also pocket various amounts. Duke and Warner Bros. fully honored the contract terms, allowing them to take a big piece of the pie from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Of course, Duke and Warner Bros. would definitely comply with the revenue-sharing agreements, but how much these actors would actually receive was another story.
Undoubtedly, among all beneficiaries, Duke and Warner Bros. were the biggest winners of the series.
Aside from bringing handsome income to the book's original author and the lead actors, the Harry Potter films also brought tremendous profit to Duke and Time Warner.
By the end of last year, DVD sales and video rentals for the first six films brought in approximately $4.9 billion, while TV broadcast revenue reached $1.8 billion. In North America alone, DVD sales of the first six Harry Potter movies surpassed 80 million units, making it one of the best-selling film DVD series since the new millennium.
The Harry Potter video games, licensed to American gaming giant EA, sold 42 million legitimate copies worldwide, generating $1.9 billion in profits for the gaming company.
Furthermore, Mattel, LEGO, and Hasbro each paid over $100 million to acquire the rights to produce pencil cases and wizard hats. The number of companies that legally obtained branding rights from Warner exceeded expectations, and revenue from merchandise alone reached $17 billion.
Just from licensing merchandise, Duke and Warner Bros. earned massive profits.
As the series developed, it had come to encompass thousands of licensed goods including publishing, films, DVDs, video tapes, beverages, toys, stationery, games, clothing, theme parks, and even Harry Potter tourism in England. Harry Potter had long become a giant cross-industry chain, driving an economic scale of $200 billion.
Regardless of how the world viewed it, nothing could change the fact that this was the most successful book series in history. And following the Bible and another unique work, the Harry Potter series ranked third in global book sales.
"Director Rosenberg…"
"Director Rosenberg…"
After taking photos, the three young actors deliberately came over to greet Duke. They weren't foolish they knew the benefits brought by the Harry Potter series were about to end, and the downsides were looming. If they could get into one of Duke's future productions, maybe their career transition could be smoother.
Duke shook hands with the three one by one but didn't say much. Emma Watson and the others no longer held any value for him. Moreover, their attempts to transition would be of legendary difficulty at the very least, he couldn't think of any good way to help.
Emma Watson would have it slightly better. Firstly, she had the strong support of fashion emperor Karl Lagerfeld; secondly, although her acting was indeed poor and her talent extremely limited, she could always play the role of a pretty face. Relying on the fan base and popularity she had built up over the years, she would always manage to find a middling spot in Hollywood.
The other two had it even harder, especially the one who played Harry Potter. For any commercial film, he was like a super poison pill. The only viable route was to slowly grind through the independent film scene. Maybe after more than a decade, the mark of Harry Potter could finally be washed away.
Entering the theater, Duke didn't go to the screening room but instead went straight into a lounge with Robin Grand, Jamie Johnson, and Doug Walter. The four of them exchanged opinions and once again reaffirmed the strategy they had formulated from the beginning continue to emphasize the importance of J k Rowling and extract the remaining value from Emma Watson and the others.
"The Harry Potter Studio is an independently operating company with separate accounting and self-financing…"
Before leaving the lounge, Doug Walter added, "Whether according to British law or American law, we are completely legal."
This involved profits of over hundreds of millions of dollars and would also affect the stock prices of Warner Bros. and even Time Warner. Naturally, Duke and the others would choose whatever option was most beneficial to them.
Leaving the lounge, the four entered the screening hall. Duke sat in a relatively front-row seat. His timing was perfect the film had just started.
Frankly speaking, Duke had once considered replacing David Yates. His version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix was undoubtedly the worst in the series. Fortunately, not only did J k Rowling strongly support him, but Duke also had some memories of the future and eventually entrusted him with directing the series' final chapter.
David Yates also did an outstanding job.
The most successful aspect of this final installment was that it overcame the limitations and shortcomings of the written word. Joanne Rowling's depiction of the final battle wasn't particularly successful the writing and narrative were both somewhat chaotic but David Yates managed to translate it into a tragic and grand spectacle on screen.
The finale focused mainly on the Horcruxes and the ultimate showdown between Harry Potter and Voldemort. The film significantly increased the action sequences, with almost one thrilling battle every ten minutes. Along with the trio's escape from Gringotts, the Battle of Hogwarts, and the final confrontation, the film kept audiences glued to the screen. Calling it a "magical war epic" was not an exaggeration at all.
Rowling's book presented a messy depiction of the final battle, while the movie portrayed it with great clarity.
In particular, the scene where Voldemort led the Death Eaters, giant spiders, and trolls in a full assault on the school, while Professor McGonagall and the others swore to defend it to the death and used the "Piertotum Locomotor" spell for the first time to summon the stone warriors that had guarded the castle for centuries was grand and deeply moving.
Moreover, in order to create a majestic war atmosphere, Director David Yates specially built cliffs and courtyards settings that didn't even exist in the original book.
Compared to the previous film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, this one was a qualitative leap.