MANATEE -- For some Harry Potter fans, Friday night’s premiere of “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2” marked the end of an era.
But for muggles who haven’t finished the book series, it’s a different story.
While other Potter fans are saying goodbye to their favorite characters, Kadi Duff, 17, of Bradenton, figured out reading the books would take away from the suspense of the movies.
“I started reading the books but then they made the movies,” said Kadi after the premiere of the latest Potter installment at Oakmont 8 in Bradenton.
Now she is directing her attention from the silver screen to the books.
“I like that you never know what will happen next,” Kadi said about the movies. “I’m on book four right now.”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2,” pulled in $43.5 million from midnight shows Friday, according to studio estimates.
That surpassed the previous midnight record set last summer by “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” which earned around $30 million for its midnight screenings.
With the addition of 3-D, “Part 2” could end the franchise’s spellbinding 10-year story with a total weekend debut approaching $150 million. That would surpass the $125 million opening last November of “Deathly Hallows: Part 1.”
The debut weekend record is $158 million set by “The Dark Knight” in 2008.
The seven Harry Potter novels have sold more than 450 million copies world wide, and those numbers are likely to soar when the series becomes available as an ebook starting Oct. 1.
Kymberly Lample, 17, of Bradenton, first came under the Potter spell through movies.
“I started with the movies and then I got into the books,” she said.
That strategy packed her movie-viewing experience with suspense; she had no idea what was coming.
“I cried at the end,” said Kymberly, who later confessed she was in tears throughout the movie. “It’s a piece of your childhood that’s done.”
Kadi had no regrets about her movies-first approach, too.
“I think it’s perfect because I can watch it all again,” she said.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this story.
