The first of two films that bring an end to the Harry Potter adventures has its world premiere in London on Thursday, leaving its wealthy young stars contemplating their future after a decade in the spotlight.
Worldwide fans of the boy wizard have been eagerly awaiting the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part One, the first of two movies based on the seventh and final book by J.K. Rowling.
Daniel Radcliffe, 21, Emma Watson, 20, and Rupert Grint, 22, who have played Harry and his best friends Hermione and Ron in all eight films, will attend the red carpet premiere in London’s Leicester Square on Thursday evening.
It is likely to be an emotional event for the young stars, who must now face the world without their on-screen characters who dominated their childhoods and turned them into multi-millionaires.
“It’s the end of an era,” Radcliffe — Harry — said ahead of the premiere, adding that when filming wrapped up this year on both parts of Deathly Hallows, “everyone was sad — we all cried. It was the end of something amazing.”
The first six Harry Potter films earned $5.4 billion at the box office, making it the most successful movie franchise of all time. —AFP