December 2001 - Nr. 13
Harry Potter’s Silver Screen Sorcery Works in Germany, Too
TWIG - According to some reports, the film version of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" has become such a phenomenon in Germany that the first question Germans now ask each other when they meet is not the usual Wie geht’s? (How are you?) but Hast du’s gesehen? (Have you seen it?). Chances are the answer is yes. On its opening weekend in Germany, the movie lured 2.6 million viewers to cinemas from Hamburg to Munich and brought in roughly DM 32 million (US$ 16 million) in box office receipts. Some movie theaters opened their doors at midnight on Thursday (November 22) to snaking queues for the late-night screenings of the German-dubbed film. Adults far outnumbered children in the audience, although kids and grown-ups alike dressed as characters from the book and munched popular Potter treats. Warner Brothers, which produced the movie, has already recouped its entire expenditure on the filming of J.K. Rowling’s book – the first in a planned series of seven.
