Muggles' Wait Is Over At Last

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday July 11, 2007

By JODIE MINUS

MUGGLES will be noticeably absent from Illawarra streets as they disappear inside cinemas to watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which premieres in Australia today.

The film is the fifth in the series based on the popular books by JK Rowling, which focus on a young wizard and his years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft.

At close of business yesterday Greater Union cinemas in Shellharbour and Wollongong had pre-sold more than 1300 tickets (and counting) while Warrawong's Gala Twin and Wollongong Hoyts had pre-sold more than 65 per cent of seats for all sessions until the weekend.

Gala Twin owner Harry Waghorn said the film's unusual release time had helped encourage sales.

"There are more people buying tickets this time, because this is the first time it has been released in the middle of the year," he said.

"Usually it is released at the end of November before school breaks up, which is a bad time because most people are normally busy doing their Christmas shopping."

Eighteen-year-old Kate Angelucci of Unanderra became addicted to Harry Potter five years ago and was excited about seeing the film today.

"I prefer the books but the films versions are pretty cool," she said.

"I have got pretty high hopes for the film. I have seen all the previews and it looks pretty exciting but I don't know exactly what to expect."

OH, the excitement. Oh, the dread. In just 11 days Harry Potter fans can learn the fate of their favourite boy wizard when the seventh and final book is released on July 21.

In-store and online pre-orders of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows have smashed all previous records as young (and old) muggles are anxious to know whether the bespectacled Master Potter lives or dies.

At national book retailer Angus and Robertson, pre-orders are up by 54 per cent on the previous novel with 24,306 in-store orders and thousands of online sales. Online bookseller Amazon reported more than 1.6 million pre-orders worldwide, including more than a million in the US.