The ‘Potter’ Effect

In theaters Friday: Captain America: The First Avenger, Friends with Benefits

New on DVD/Blu-ray: Limitless, Take Me Home Tonight

I spent all of last weekend either working or out of town and so missed my chance to join the masses at the feet of mega-selling author JK Rowling’s ultimate conclusion to her beloved Harry Potter saga. My absentia has me more remorseful than I expected, especially for a series I had serious cinephile reservations about many years ago. I’ve changed positions on all things Potter, though, and I feel that I am not alone. In case you missed my two previous print edition Movie Filter columns about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2, you can read my November 2010 and July 2011 columns online.

Rowling’s books have sold 500 million copies in 67 languages, making her the world’s first billionaire author. The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has even broken opening weekend records at the cinema, but when the green spaces on university campuses the world over–including LSU’s Parade Grounds–are overtaken by makeshift Quidditch teams, and Potter’s nemesis, the dark Lord Voldemort is tweeting to more than 1.3 million followers, you know a movie and a book have gone from popular to culture-permeating in every way imaginable. There’s the good–kids are reading voraciously (including Latin) and contemplating themes of good versus evil, sacrifice and forgiveness–and the bad–the ancillary success of Twilight–but, regardless, the effects are undeniably huge.

So as The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 marches to even greater box office success in the coming weeks (expect my official review soon), this may be the crest of the Potter wave, but there is no reason to think it is the last. If Rowling takes a break or even retires Potter himself for good, you can bet new tales from Potter’s world will only be gone for a spell.