A medium that hasn’t been on the forefront of new technology for centuries has just proven its relevancy in a major way. Fighting against it’s cinema counterpart the final Harry Potter book sold a record-breaking 8.3 million copies in the U.S. and 2.65 million in the U.K, all within the fist 24 hours. The 5th film also broke records in the U.K. but these were box office records and not retail receipts. According to Conor Bresnan at BoxOfficeMojo.com the film had the U.K.’s largest 4-day opener on record raking in 33.2 million from 1,390 prints. This however was the opening week as Potter slipped 57.8% and came in second to Adam Sandler’s new gay romp ‘I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry.’ This was Sandler’s 8th #1 film proving his audience is growing up with him and a welcome return back to comedy after a brush with the dramatic in last winter’s ‘Reign on Me’, which didn’t even make it to 20 million domestically.

Warner Bros. proxy of distribution Dan Fellman commented on Harry’s second place finish “I can’t put a number on it, whether it is 3% or 5%, but I know it affected things, there is no question that when kids get the book, they lock themselves in their rooms until they finish, because they know on Monday, every kid is going to know who made it, and who didn’t, and they want to know it first.”
Potter Imax

While reading was making a comeback, so too was Imax. After posting a net loss of $4.9 million for the 1Q ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix’ brought it back on top “grossing $11.6 million on 126 Imax screens in its first week, a per-screen average of $92,063″ as reported by Tamsen Tillison of Variety, which broke records for the super-sized theater group. The Imax presentation is also notable for converting the last reel (the 18-minute finale) into live-action 3-D. Imax bills itself as an “entertainment technology company” and is right up our alley in terms of using new technology to enhance entertainment. The 3-D presentation of ‘The Polar Express’ is a welcome holiday tradition that I plan on taking a part of as long as it is offered (hopefully for years to come). Not to sound like a member of the Imax PR team but Imax provides a unique viewing experience with the latest technology to provide the highest quality picture and sound experience on a jumbo-sized screen. Audiences as well as film studios have taken note and 13 new theater systems were green lit in the first quarter alone.

Does this past week prove that the different forms of media and technology from different eras can all co-exists together? Record breaking book sales and record-breaking b.o. receipts all at the same time? I believe people aren’t always going to flock to the latest form of technology, and at times they downright avoid it. However, give the people quality content and it doesn’t matter what the medium is they’ll flock to it. J.K. Rowling has single-handedly brought back reading to popular culture and in the process brought one of the most successful franchises ever to the big screen. Only a few companies have learned the secret of using technology to enhance their product and not let technology lead. I consider Imax to be one of them, and the combination of a new Harry Potter movie and a giant Imax screen should prove irresistible to everyone.


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