Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Nov. 16, 2001Fun Fact: “The kids liked to get the makeup people to give them gashes,” Robbie Coltrane, who played Hagrid, told EW in 2001. “Daniel got one to give him a black eye, and he came in in the morning and the other ones said, ‘Oh my! What happened?”‘ Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Nov. 15, 2002Fun Facts: Hugh Grant was in the running to play Lockhart, a part that ultimately went to Branagh. “Ken seems to disappear into any role,” Columbus told EW in 2002. “I didn’t want people to […]

After eight films, over $2 billion in box office, and countless moments of cinematic wonder, we reluctantly bid farewell to our favorite boy wizard Once upon a time, it was easy to be cynical about the Harry Potter movie franchise. When Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was in production back in 2000, there were those in Hollywood who viewed Warner Bros.’ adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s novels as “easy money” — as if making blockbuster cinema out of a global kid-lit phenomenon were a simple magic trick. And there were those who believed that telling a single epic story in […]