← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Conservative
Thread ID: 8751 | Posts: 1 | Started: 2003-08-04
2003-08-04 10:23 | User Profile
The following is from [url=http://www.reason.com/0307/cr.mm.back.shtml]http://www.reason.com/0307/cr.mm.back.shtml[/url]
July 2003
Back to the Future
The nostalgic yet progressive appeal of wizards, hobbits, and Jedi knights
Michael Valdez Moses
When the current generation of American children looks back on the first decade of the 21st century, it is possible that the three names it will most readily recall will be not Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and George W. Bush but Harry Potter, Frodo Baggins, and Luke (or Anakin) Skywalker. Never before have three ongoing series of films -- the Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter franchises -- proved so fabulously profitable and internationally popular.
The original Star Wars (1977) grossed $513 million worldwide, and its 1997 re-release earned $460 million. International theatrical rentals of the film swelled the total by an additional $779 million. (Not bad for a film that cost $11 million to produce.) The Fellowship of the Rings (2001) has proved fabulously popular, with worldwide grosses totaling $860 million and worldwide rentals $500 million. The Harry Potter series has produced only slightly less magical returns, with $600 million in worldwide rentals alone for Harry Potter and the Sorcererââ¬â¢s Stone. Nor will the flood of such films subside anytime soon. The VHS and DVD editions of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets have recently been released. The theatrical premiere of The Return of the King (the third part of The Lord of the Rings) is slated for December 2003. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire are due out in 2004 and 2005. The next Star Wars film will be released in 2005, and a third trilogy of Star Wars movies is now in the planning stages.
Complete article is at [url=http://www.reason.com/0307/cr.mm.back.shtml]http://www.reason.com/0307/cr.mm.back.shtml[/url]