Posted on Monday, January 25th, 2021 by Peter Sciretta

On the January 25, 2021 episode of /Film Daily, /Film Editor-in-chief Peter Sciretta is joined by /Film managing editor Jacob Hall, weekend editor Brad Oman, and writer Hoai-Tran Bui to discuss the latest film and tv news, including a Harry Potter tv series, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Amazon’s Invincible tv series and the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer.

In The News: 

• HT: A ‘Harry Potter’ TV Series is in Early Development at HBO Max
  • Should JK Rowling be involved?
  • Peter’s pitch: Re-adapt and expand the novels as seasons of tv. Alfonso Cuaron as director of the pilot and executive producer.
  • HT’s Pitch: Hogwarts Mystery
  • Brad’s Pitch: A prequel series following the original Order of the Phoenix as they battle Voldemort and the Death Eaters at the height of their power. Flashbacks can be employed to the school years of James Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Severus Snape, etc. to give us that teen drama along with the adult stories.
  • Jacob’s pitch: A series set within the Ministry of Magic in the years after Voldemort’s second defeat, following the Aurors and politicians who must work together to root out traitors and rebuild their government.
• HT: ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Reveals “Muncher,” One of the Film’s New Ghost Characters
• Brad: Did ‘Ghostbusters: Afterlife’ Get Rick Moranis to Make an Appearance After All?
• Jacob (og Chris): ‘Invincible’ TV Series Premieres in March on Amazon Prime Video, Watch the First Clip Now
• Brad: ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Trailer: Titans Clash in a Massive Blockbuster Battle
  • Brief reactions
  • Jacob (og Evan): ‘Godzilla vs Kong’ Trailer Breakdown: Big Trouble on Little Earth 

All the other stuff you need to know:

• You can find more about all the stories we mentioned on today’s show at slashfilm.com, and linked inside the show notes.
• /Film Daily is published every weekday, bringing you the most exciting news from the world of movies and television as well as deeper dives into the great features from slashfilm.com. 
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Slytherins, look no further.

Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery has surpassed more than $300 million in player spending, according to Sensor Tower.

Since launching in April 2018, the Jam City-developed RPG has continued to bring in a steady stream of revenue.

This began with $12 million from 13 million downloads in its first week.

The mobile game has now accumulated 82 million downloads worldwide.

Wizards in the US proved to be the biggest spenders, accounting for around $156 million or 53 per cent of the total global revenue.

Germany secured second spot at $25 million (8 per cent), before players in the UK claimed third position with $23 million (7 per cent).

The biggest number of installs unsurprisingly went to the US once again at 16 million, or 20 per cent of the total figure. Brazil then followed in second at 6 million (8 per cent), while those in France ranked third.

Hogwarts Mystery initially conjured up $110 million in less than a year, before crossing the $200 million milestone in May 2020, before finally reaching its latest figure 11 months later.

Galleons

Zynga has similarly found some success with the wizarding franchise.

Harry Potter: Puzzles Spells, a match-three title released in September 2020, has generated close to $62 million from player spending across Q4 2020 to Q1 2021.

In its first four months alone, the game stormed its way to $39.7 million in gross revenue.

Wizards Unite, on the other hand, has continuously struggled to pull in an audience. The Niantic and Warner Bros. joint venture earned a mere $4 million across the same six month period.

It was clear early on that Wizards Unite was in sharp decline, after earning an estimated $22 million in five months.

We previously spoke to Jam City’s Sarah Wolf on transitioning from lawyer to Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery game director.

British actor Helen McCrory, who starred in the television show “Peaky Blinders” and the “Harry Potter” movies, has died, her husband said Friday. She was 52 and had been suffering from cancer.

Her husband, fellow actor Damian Lewis, said McCrory died “peacefully at home” after a “heroic battle with cancer.”

“She died as she lived. Fearlessly,” Lewis wrote on Twitter. “God we love her and know how lucky we are to have had her in our lives. She blazed so brightly. Go now, Little One, into the air, and thank you.”

McCrory was one of Britain’s most respected actors, making her mark by playing a succession of formidable and sometimes fearsome women.

She played the matriarch of a crime family on “Peaky Blinders” and the scheming Voldemort ally Narcissa Malfoy in the “Harry Potter” movies.

Onstage, her roles included the vengeful Greek heroine “Medea” at the National Theatre in 2014. At the same theater, she excelled as a woman caught between a dull husband and a feckless lover in Terence Rattigan’s “The Deep Blue Sea” in 2016.

While many performers struggle to find meaty female roles in film and television, McCrory played a string of them.

“Having said that, there are a lot of things I turn down,” she told The Associated Press in 2016, describing the sort of roles where “all your lines are ‘But what did you do at work?’ ‘That’s so clever, darling.’ ‘How did you do that?’ ‘And then what did you do?'”

“Of course, there’s so much sexism within the profession,” McCrory said. “But I think you approach it in different ways, and my approach is just to forge forward.”

PRO: Rebooting Harry Potter Could Add Details, Characters, And Storylines Left Out Of The Movies

Almost every Harry Potter book is a massive tome in its own right, particularly when it comes to children’s literature. While the first two novels are a reasonable length at around 300 pages apiece, each consecutive installment ranges between 435 pages to 870 pages. Certainly, in the process of making two-to-three-hour movies, lots of characters, storylines, and other details were left on the page and/or on the cutting room floor. You can’t blame the filmmakers; they only have so much time to tell their overarching stories. But for many book lovers, there’s always some disappointment whenever certain moments don’t transition from page-to-screen.

If the Harry Potter books were to be turned into a television series, however, that would afford the showrunners with the chance to include said details that didn’t make the cut in the movies. That’s not to say that the show is guaranteed to include each and every side character or plot, but there would be more opportunities to expand the material where the movies fell short.

® © 2021 CBS Studios Inc. © 2021 CBS Television Distribution and CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Wizarding World is coming to the Big Apple! The Harry Potter New York flagship store is opening Jun. 3—and this is a must-visit destination for Wizards and muggles alike.

The 21,000 square foot store will feature 15 different themed areas, all based on one magical aspect of the Wizarding World. With three floors of magical merch and interactive experiences, this new retail adventure houses an impressively awesome collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts-themed products.

To enter the store you’ll need to pass under an oversized 220-pound model of Fawkes the Phoenix. Along with this super-structure, you’ll find plenty of Instagram-worthy pic opportunities.

If your fam is into all things tech, download the Harry Potter Fan Club app to find interactive store adventures throughout the flagship retailer.

The new store also features two multiplayer virtual reality experiences, giving your kiddos the chance to interact with the Wizarding World in an imaginative way. The “Chaos at Hogwarts” and “Wizards Take Flight” VR adventures include magical creatures, broom-filled battles and so much more.

Along with the interactive experiences, you can also shop, shop and shop some more at this Potter-themed store. Not only can you pick up plenty of Potter products, you can also gift the Wizarding World fan with the ultimate present from the Personalization Area.

Sarah Roots, EVP Warner Bros. Worldwide Tours and Retail, said in a press release, “The level of artistic detail and quality of the design inspired by the movies means Harry Potter New York will bring a completely new shopping experience to the city. With over 1,000 Wizarding World props on display (including some authentic items which featured in the movies), the incredible theming, along with experiences such as photo opportunities and the fantastic range of products, there will be something special for every fan.”

The Harry Potter New York flagship store opens Jun. 3 next to the historic Flatiron building at 935 Broadway.

—Erica Loop

Photos courtesy of Harry Potter New York

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New York (AFP)

Wearing Hogwarts robes and witches’ hats, hundreds of Potterheads sipped Butterbeer and posed for photos in Hagrid’s giant shoes as New York’s long-awaited Harry Potter store, the biggest in the world, opened Thursday.

Fans of the boy wizard queued for hours in heavy rain to be among the first inside the three-story shop in Lower Manhattan that hosts the largest collection of Potter products anywhere.

“It’s really magical,” said Margaret Suarez, whose boyfriend arrived at 6:00 am (1100 GMT) to hold a spot in line four hours ahead of opening.

#photo1

Suarez, 30, quickly eyed a wand belonging to witch Bellatrix Lestrange to go with the patronus charm memorabilia and funko pop figures that were already in her shopping bag.

“In my heart, I’m a wizard,” Suarez told AFP. “I really want to get a wand and personalize it so I can live my best fantasy,” the New Yorker added.

Ruben Juarez, 27, and his wife traveled from Dallas, Texas for the grand opening of the 21,000 square-foot (1,950 square meters) store that is near the Flatiron building.

#photo2

“We’re excited to be here. I love everything Harry Potter,” said Juarez, wearing the scarlet and gold scarf of the house of Gryffindor.

Large crowds gathered outside the store throughout the morning, with even a few police officers called to ensure order was maintained, as Potterheads waited for their timed ticket entry.

Inside, fans of J. K Rowling’s magical world snapped selfies in front of a red telephone box like the one that transports witches and wizards to the Ministry of Magic, and bought fizzing whizbees candy.

#photo3

They tried on knitted quidditch jumpers, flicked through copies of the best-selling book series in history and sampled the wizards’ favorite drink at the Butterbeer bar.

“Butterbeer is like cream soda but with a kick to it. It’s unlike anything, honestly,” explained 21-year-old Emilee Rodriguez.

The flagship store was due to open last summer but was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

#photo4

For 19-year-old Alexandra Ewing, the wait for her first visit to a Potter store was worth it.

“I’m having the time of my life. I’m fighting back tears this whole time, I’m loving it,” she told AFP.

© 2021 AFP

Jason Kilar’s comments from a conference last Thursday (via THR) are interesting because they’re so vague. Still, with Fantastic Beasts 3 currently filming and an HBO Max show in development, it almost seems strange to look to the future. That is, unless there’s an exciting new project like a Harry Potter sequel in the works.

As previously mentioned, the upcoming Harry Potter TV show is being developed for HBO Max. You can use this link to sign up for the streaming service.

If the scores in the final against Italy are level after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra-time is played. If it’s still level, the match is decided by a penalty shootout – each team taking five penalties apiece, and then going to sudden-death if needed. England have been knocked out of six major tournaments in this way (1990, 1996, 1998, 2004, 2006 and 2012) and won a shootout only twice (1996, in an earlier match, and 2018).