Harry Potter

ORLANDO — The books and movies have long since wrapped up the epic tale, with Voldemort vanquished, Snape lionized, and the young heroes sending their own children off to Hogwarts. But the specter of Harry Potter will continue to dominate the landscape of central Florida for years to come. "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter brought millions of new visitors to Orlando," said Robert Niles, editor of the consumer website Theme Park Insider. "What we're seeing now is a competitive moment, and the Orlando parks are all trying to take advantage of the momentum.

ORLANDO — The books and movies have long since wrapped up the epic tale, with Voldemort vanquished, Snape lionized, and the young heroes sending their own children off to Hogwarts. But the specter of Harry Potter will continue to dominate the landscape of central Florida for years to come. "The Wizarding World of Harry Potter brought millions of new visitors to Orlando," said Robert Niles, editor of the consumer website Theme Park Insider. "What we're seeing now is a competitive moment, and the Orlando parks are all trying to take advantage of the momentum.

In a battle of summer movie heroes, Captain America topped Harry Potter this weekend at the box office. Paramount Pictures' "Captain America: The First Avenger" opened at No. 1 with $65.8 million, according to Sunday studio estimates. The Marvel Comics superhero adventure sets up next summer's all-star blockbuster "The Avengers. " Warner Bros.' "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth and final installment in the boy-wizard franchise, dropped to the second spot.

Harry Potter has joined the Kindle lending library. Amazon.com announced Thursday that on June 19, the e-book editions of J.K. Rowling's seven Potter novels will become part of the Kindle service available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Members can download a book for free once a month. Amazon's library has more than 145,000 books. Financial terms were not disclosed for the online retailer's "licensing agreement" with Rowling. Rowling only recently permitted e-books of the Potter series and has been offering them through her own Pottermore website.

On the evidence of “Harry Brown,’’ British filmmaking is devolving. Not technically: The film’s camerawork is expert, if alarmingly grimy, and the production is all too convincing in its evocation of a time (right now) and a place (the nastier side of London). But after a long run of baroquely plotted crime dramas like “Layer Cake’’ and “Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels,’’ it’s a little depressing to come across a vigilante drama whose sole twist is its protagonist’s advanced age. In other words, director Daniel Barber’s debut film plays like a UK “Gran Torino’’ with a colder heart and...

***½ HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS: Part 2 Directed by: David Yates Written by: Steve Kloves, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon At: Boston Common, Fenway, suburbs; Jordan's IMAX, Reading and Natick Running time: 130 minutes Rated: PG-13 (some sequences of intense action violence and frightening images)...

‘MR. AND Mrs. Dursley, of number four Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.’’ Little did 7-year-old me know that when my mom read me that line for the first time, my world would be forever changed. Harry Potter entered my life in second grade. Today, two days before the release of the last film, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II,’’ is released, I turn 18. I can’t remember a time before there was Harry Potter.

The “Harry Potter’’ franchise long ago became an invincible brand name and global profit center. It’s the cultural equivalent of a wand-waving Google, a Microsoft minus Muggles. J. K. Rowling’s books, and the movies adapted from them, have taken the supernatural and a supernaturally fertile imagination, Dickens and boarding-school novels, and transmuted them into gold. Alchemy like that they don’t teach at Hogwarts. A related kind of alchemy is at work in “Harry Potter: The Exhibition,’’ which opens tomorrow at the Museum of Science and runs through Feb....

"Harry Potter" fans understand that at least some good things must come to an end. And that's why it probably wasn't a shock that Sunday's Yule Ball at the Middle East in Cambridge marked the last performance of Draco and the Malfoys, a Potter-themed rock band that plays tunes written from the perspective of Harry's Slytherin nemesis, who's played by Tom Felton in the Potter films. (Our favorite Draco songs include "My Dad Is Rich," "Voldemort Is Awesome," and "Tom Felton's Kinda Hot. ")

With "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" breaking box-office records, the most lucrative film saga this side of the James Bond pictures finally concludes. That saga has had one constant throughout - the near-demented fecundity of J.K. Rowling's highly Dickensian imagination - and two near-constants. The first has been the identity of the actors in recurring roles. (Really, it's the beard and hat you notice with Dumbledore, not whether it's Richard Harris or Michael Gambon.)

Iron Man and his fellow avengers are off to a solid start as they bring their save-the-world act to U.S. theaters. "The Avengers" launched domestically early Friday with $18.7 million from midnight screenings. That puts it at No. 8 all-time for midnight debuts, just behind the $19.7 million start for "The Hunger Games" in March. But it's well under half the amount for the No. 1 midnight draw — the "Harry Potter" finale last fall with $43.5 million. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" also went on to the biggest domestic opening weekend ever with $169.2...

This year's MTV Movie Awards will be a showdown between a bevy of bridesmaids and a cast of killer kids. "Bridesmaids" and "The Hunger Games" top nominees at MTV's annual film honors with eight nods apiece, including bids for best cast, breakthrough performance and movie of the year. Rounding out the best-picture contenders are "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," ''The Help" And "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-Part 1. " MTV announced nominees Monday in 12 categories, including six new ones such as "best on-screen dirtbag" and "best gut-wrenching performance.

NEW YORK - When the Harry Potter books went on sale in electronic form Tuesday, it was as if Harry himself had cast the "Alohomora" spell on them - the one that unlocks doors. In a break with industry practices, the books aren't locked down by encryption, which means consumers can move them between devices and read them anywhere they like. If Pottermore, J.K. Rowling's new Web store, proves a success, it could provide a model for other authors and publishers and undermine the clout of Amazon.com Inc., which dominates e-book sales.

NOW IN E-BOOK: At last, Harry Potter's adventures are available electronically. J.K. Rowling's seven novels about the boy wizard are available as e-books and digital audio books on the author's Pottermore website. WHAT'S AVAILABLE: The first three books are currently available in English editions for the U.S. and the U.K., at $7.99 or 4.99 British pounds apiece. Audio versions cost $29.99 or 17.99 pounds. They're compatible with major e-reader software and readable on dedicated readers, as well as tablet computers, mobile phones and PCs. THE FINE PRINT: Editions in French,...

Fans are eating up "The Hunger Games," which has opened strongly with $19.7 million domestically from overnight shows that started after midnight. That's the seventh-best midnight total ever and puts the movie well on the way toward a blockbuster opening weekend. The top six midnight draws come from two other teen-based franchises — three movies each from the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series. Last year's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" leads the list with $43.5 million from midnight shows.

Harry Potter fans should now find it a bit easier to find platform 9 ¾. King's Cross Station, the London train terminal made famous by J.K. Rowling's series on the boy wizard, has undergone a 550 million pound ($875 million) makeover. The station is the setting of the fictional platform 9 ¾, where Potter and his friends went through a wall to find the train to Hogwarts, their school. But the 45 million real-life commuters who struggle through the cluttered station every year often found the experience something short of magical.

By Brock Parker, Town Correspondent The final Harry Potter movie is coming to theaters, but what's being billed as "The Best Harry Potter Party EVER, Part 2" is coming to Harvard Square. The Harvard Square Business Association will hold the Potter party on July 29 at 7 p.m. on Brattle Street in Harvard Square to celebrate the release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. " In July of 2007, the Association presented "The Best Harry Potter Party EVER" in commemoration of the final Harry Potter book.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians sounds like an Otis Redding cover band. It is, instead, an unofficial cover of the Harry Potter franchise. “The Lightning Thief,’’ the first film in what its makers at 20th Century Fox almost certainly hope will become a series, features a New York teenager named Percy Jackson (Logan Lerman) who’s introduced to a world of magic, demons, and special effects. Very little of it is as persuasive or enveloping as its beloved English counterpart. But it works very hard to distract 11-year-olds from thinking...

J.K. Rowling's long-awaited website for all things Harry Potter will be open for business in early April. The Pottermore site was announced last year, with a scheduled launch in October. But a statement posted on the site this week says testing was extended after feedback from early users made it "clear that our original platform wouldn't be suitable when millions more users came on to the site. " The site is supposed to offer e-book editions of the seven Potter novels, but Rowling spokesman Mark Hutchinson said Thursday that the sale date for e-books had not been confirmed.

Harry Potter e-books are coming to schools and libraries, at a date to be determined. OverDrive Inc., a leading distributor for the school and library markets, announced Monday that it has reached an agreement with J.K. Rowling's Pottermore website to make downloads of the seven Potter books available for students and library patrons. The mega-selling series will be available to more than 18,000 schools and libraries, in more than 20 languages. Rowling had resisted the electronic format until last year, when she announced that Potter e-books would be sold through her...