# Who is the audience for the new Harry Potter film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 14, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978 "2009-07-14T14:07:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sonnenstrahl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Sonnenstrahl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonnenstrahl)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/21 "2009-07-15T04:05:59Z")
I’m going to go see it. Female, age 25. I LOVED the books, which I started reading only when I was 19 although I was 13 or so when the first one came out. I’m not so crazy about the movies (I was excited for weeks before the release of the last book, but I’m only mildly looking forward to the movie) but I think of them as a reminder of something I once really enjoyed. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/22 "2009-07-15T04:09:22Z")
My students (16-18) are all going to see it tonight–many of them in costume. The boys are as excited as the girls. Possibly more. They’ve been posting countdowns on Facebook for days. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/23 "2009-07-15T04:22:48Z")
Got a pair of tickets to the midnight opening and will leave for the mall in about two hours. **kaylasmom** will be staying home and waiting for the DVD. It’s more enjoyable for her when we can stop the movie for a moment when necessary and explain complex visual effects, and the damn projectionist just _will not_ cooperate. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 8:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/24 "2009-07-15T08:41:20Z")
Pretty much anyone who loves the books or the previous films. Both of which have been popular with a pretty wide age demographic. I’m 34 now and love both. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/25 "2009-07-15T13:34:42Z")
Whoa. Am I the only one who’s got way less interest? I’ll still go see the movie…but damn, it’s taking forever, and I read the books anyway. And the kids are all getting really old. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/848f3c/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_Dunlop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_Dunlop)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/26 "2009-07-15T13:57:02Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Who is the target audience for this film? Young adults like my kids who were kids when the books came out? Older folks like their parents? Folks newly introduced to the series? My 21 year old intern asked permission to come in a bit late today because she wanted to see the midnight showing. I got the impression she was going with a bunch of friends her age. I don`t know who she hangs out with but she’s a pretty quintessential walking talking image of a rich sorority girl. I’ll go see the movie eventually. While it’s in theaters for sure. I thought the first couple movies were charming and really only liked the imagery and the ambiance of the magical little world. The winter/Christmasy scenes in at least a couple of the movies put me in a Christmas mood more than most Christmas movies do. The actual plots were really dull and my interest in the last couple movies has only grown because the overarching Voldemorte plot finally got somewhere. I’m 25. I think they are really fun children’s books and movies but aside from being admittedly very charming I have a hard time understanding why adults get excited about them as they do. I mean it’s fine… I just don`t get that excited. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/27 "2009-07-15T16:31:49Z")
Plenty of my nerd friends recommended _HP and the Philosopher’s Stone_ to me when it first came out, not least because I had a keen interest in alchemy at the time. Personally, I’ve always found her prose unreadable; it’s just appalling. (Sure, she was writing for children, but there are lots of children’s lit authors that are a pleasure to read as an adult.) While I can’t stomach her writing at all, one thing is clear: she’s a fantastic _storyteller._ I love the movies, and am really looking forward to _Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince_. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/28 "2009-07-15T17:16:22Z")
> [@Magiver](#): > > I found the first movie to be superior in every possible way to the later ones so I’m not expecting much from this one. The commercial for it gives me the impression that special effects are going to trump everything else (in a bad way). Seriously? IMO, the only Potter movie worse than the first one was “Chamber of Secrets.” The film version of “Prisoner of Azkaban” is downright _great_. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/29 "2009-07-15T17:48:56Z")
I’d say it’s pretty much everyone. I know people from seven to seventy who are looking forward to seeing it at the cinema. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/30 "2009-07-15T18:12:32Z")
The wife and I are both well into middle age. Weve both read all of the books and enjoyed them. The film opens on Thursday in Thailand, and we’ll probably see it this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/31 "2009-07-15T18:27:26Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Whoa. Am I the only one who’s got way less interest? I’ll still go see the movie…but damn, it’s taking forever, and I read the books anyway. And the kids are all getting really old. At this point, the actors playing the kids aren’t much older than the characters they’re portraying - and teenagers in movies are often played by young adults in their 20s, so I might even guess they’re closer in age to their characters than the average. I’m excited about the movies, but I won’t see it until a few weeks when the crowds calm down more, at least. The HP movies are still some of the few that I’ll go out of my way to see in a theater, though - I rarely go to the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/32 "2009-07-15T18:53:59Z")
Asked my 20 yo son yesterday. HE said he was looking forward to it, but not really psyched like he has been for other movies. Said he pretty much had to see it, as the books were such a big part of his growing up. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/33 "2009-07-17T10:14:39Z")
The actual content of the series gets progressively darker and grimmer. In a way, I feel like they are written in such a way that Rowling expected the readers to grow up alongside the characters, which a lot of children and teenagers in the 00’s did. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/34 "2009-07-17T14:43:01Z")
My youngest son was maybe 8 when the books first came out (he is 19 now). He has devoured every book more than once. My wife and older son are big fans as well and I am a sort of fan. We have seen every movie as a family so far. The first few were Christmas time releases so we would all be together and it was a great movie everyone could enjoy. This may be the first one that we see seperately but we will all see it eventually. ---
**Author:** ![ministryman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@ministryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ministryman)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/35 "2009-07-17T15:34:28Z")
I saw HP and the HBP, and I must say a few things: 1. It sucked worse than HP and the OOTP. It should have been called “Harry Potter and the Half-Erect Penises”. I though I was watching _Twilight._ 2. It had as much meat as a Tofu Burger 3. The target audience had to be a few thousand people who had never seen the first 5. \*\*\* Spoiler \*\*\* What is it with the Defense against the Dark Arts Teachers? They’re like Red-Shirted Star Trek crew members. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/36 "2009-07-17T18:53:37Z")
> [@ministryman](#): > > _snip_ > > What is it with the Defense against the Dark Arts Teachers? They’re like Red-Shirted Star Trek crew members. Voldemort wanted the job back before he went totally evil and he put a “curse”, so to speak, on the job saying no one will hold the job for more than a year until he can have it. According to this site it has made quite a few bucks. > **[Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1231783425/)** ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2009, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/37 "2009-07-17T21:43:38Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Considering every person I see reading a _Harry Potter_ book is a women, in her late 20s to early 30 and Daniel Radcliffe is now over 18 and looking pretty good… Well you do the math 🙂 I have a friend, a medical malpractice attorney, aged 52, male, who loves the books and is going to the weekend showing. He’d go to the opener, but he’s in a trial right now. I’m 47 and enjoy the films and books as well (not as re-re-reads–I only reread when a film is coming out). It’s not so much that I think Radcliffe is hot (he is waaaay too young for me, although I can see the attraction), I not only enjoy the storyline, but I also enjoy watching Britain’s best actors in all of the films. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/38 "2009-07-18T00:48:04Z")
Just came from an afternoon screening here in Las Vegas. Audience was totally mixed - from young, to 20’s, all the way up to retired couples using walkers. I think after so many films, the audience has widened to those who caught them on television as well as those who started reading the books after the first films started coming out. In any case - the audience was across the board in terms of gender and age. BTW, we liked the film very much (having never read the books) but it was a bit melancholy as you start to feel this saga coming to an end. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978/39 "2009-07-18T01:03:37Z")
I’m 21- I was 10 and a half when I got the first Harry Potter book, and was the first kid in my whole school (preschool to eight grade) to read it. I had to wait several months for Chamber of Secrets to be released, but read it as soon as I could get it. If my vacation to the UK had been a day longer, I would have read Prisoner of Azkaban on the release date there. But no, we left on the release date, and I couldn’t get it. Still bitter. I read 4, 5, 6, and 7 on the days they were released in the US- for 6 and 7, I went to midnight release parties. I got the two “school books” (Fantastic Beasts; Quidditch Through the Ages) very close to the release. I asked for and received Tales of Beedle the Bard for Christmas. I’ve never been that into the films. I’ve seen each one in theatres with family or friends or, one memorably occasion, my boyfriend’s family, and even went to a midnight show of Order of the Phoenix for a friend’s birthday party two days after seeing Harry and the Potters in concert. I know that doesn’t sound very blasé, but I don’t own any of the movies, have never seen them multiple times in theatre and only one multiple times out of theatres (I rewatched Chamber of Secrets with a friend), and I haven’t seen Half-Blood Prince yet. Of course that’s partially because some of my co-workers and I are waiting for the IMAX release. Darn Transformers and their exclusive 4-week contract. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-the-audience-for-the-new-harry-potter-film/502978.md?page=1)