Arts & Entertainment

Riddikulus! Harry Potter Tickets Already Selling Out

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" premiers Thursday at midnight at Century 12 and other nearby theaters – but good luck getting in.

The fantasy may have ended in 2007, but the reality is that Harry Potter has one rather large finale still set to materialize.

Local movie theaters are gearing up for what may be the biggest summer blockbuster of 2011, as the last film installment of the famed Harry Potter book series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” will take to the screen Thursday at midnight.

Tickets for the movie, which will be screened at several midnight showings across San Mateo County in 3D and normal digital projection, have already gone on sale.

At Century 16 in Mountain View, all ten midnight screenings are sold out, as are all screenings at Century 12 in downtown San Mateo (located at 320 2nd Avenue), Century Theatres at the Tanforan Shopping Center, Century 20 in Daly City, CineArts at Empire in San Francisco and Century 20 in downtown Redwood City, according to Fandango.com.

In fact, Century 20 will have 15 showings of the movie from 12:03 a.m. to 12:27 a.m., all of which have already had their last ticket purchased. However, there are still a few tickets available for showings in the early morning hours.

San Francisco’s AMC Loews Metreon 16 will have 12 showings of the film from 12:02 a.m. to 3:30 a.m., all of which have tickets available on Fandango (as of Tuesday morning), and the trend seems to be the closer to midnight the showing, the better.

Therefore, there are opportunities to see the film later in the morning, such as 12:30 a.m. showings. Some theaters will use special promotions to get fans out early. Century Theatres at Tanforan will be showing part one of the film at 9 p.m., segueing into part two after midnight.

Since its introduction into the literary world in 1997, author J.K. Rowling’s brainchild, centering on the magical exploits of teenage Harry Potter and his companions, has become a worldwide phenomenon. And since its adaptation to the big screen, the Harry Potter movie series has enjoyed the same success as its print-form predecessor.

Each of the seven Harry Potter movies released so far rank in the 30 highest-grossing films across the globe; five are in the top 20. Combined, the Potter films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide and have become the highest-grossing film series in history.

The seventh installment of the print series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” was split into two parts for its film version, a move the film’s directors said would allow them to tell the story more closely. At the end of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1,” the central antagonist of the series, Voldemort, has retrieved the Elder Wand, the most powerful of magical weapons. Part two will showcase the impending battle between Harry and Voldemort.


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