Thursday, March 28, 2024

“Harry Potter” London Premiere Cost Daniel Radcliffe’s Broadway Show $400K

Share

This is how not to succeed in business: Broadway’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” had to shut down for two nights last week so Daniel Radcliffe could be in London promoting “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2.” The result? The “How to Succeed” box office fell from $1.13 million to $749,000. There were reports that Warner Bros., the “Harry Potter” studio, had bought out the shows. But the box report indicates a week to week loss of $382,866 with no mention of the studio pitch in. That amount of money is nothing to WB or the “Harry Potter” franchise, but on Broadway it’s a fortune. It’s actually more than several shows made last week, including “Master Class,” “Hair,” Ghetto Klown,” and “Jerusalem.” Maybe WB will set that straight with a whisk of a magic wand!

While Radcliffe is back on stage, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2” is set to break records this weekend. Will it be the biggest box office earner in history, etc? Could be. Advanced ticket sales for “DH2” are already breaking $40 million and that’s before actual people start showing up in theaters. The movie has no competition this weekend. There won’t be a theater that doesn’t have multiple screenings, either. “DH2” has the third widest opening of any movie, behind “Twilight: Eclipse” and “Iron Man 2.” According to boxofficemojo, “DH2” also has 3000 3D screens, where the ticket prices are higher. (Frankly, it’s fine in 2D.)

Tomorrow will be full of announcements and pronouncements, with all the records cited–biggest Friday before a Saturday after which a Sunday follows, etc. Congrats to producer David Heyman, who shepherded this project for a decade, and to the young cast, who were never arrested for anything or did anything particularly embarrassing.

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
spot_img

Read more

In Other News