Harry Potter Charms Box Office

At the box office, the chaste rule, writer says

(NEWSER) - Remember the old teen sex comedies, where hormones ruled and no one talked about their feelings? Hollywood doesn't, ST VanAirsdale writes in Esquire. Today's sexless blockbusters—think the Harry Potter flicks and Twilight—reflect how "our PG-13 imperative has scrubbed mass culture of its libido." The new leading men's "heroic priorities must supersede their biological urges." And their leading ladies love them for it. More»

Order of the Phoenix casts a spell on critics—well, most of them, anyway

(NEWSER) - Holy Quidditch! Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix flies onto the silver screen tomorrow just two weeks before the ballyhooed release of the final book of the wizard saga. It seems to have cast a spell on critics, like Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, who says it will "keep you riveted" with a "pulse-quickening urgency." More»

High prices and few choices don't help: Roger Ebert

(NEWSER) - News that movie theaters had lackluster revenue in 2011 didn’t surprise Roger Ebert. He ticks off a list of the reasons why at his blog , including the lack of an Avatar-like blockbuster and usual suspects like too-high prices for tickets and refreshments. But also:

• Distractions: Loud talkers and people using their cell phones (with their bright screens) to text are getting out of hand.

Superhero trounces boy wizard at the box office

(NEWSER) - Just a week after the final Harry Potter movie smashed all kinds of records, Captain America unceremoniously unseated the boy wizard, reports the LA Times. The 3D comic book extravaganza raked in $65.8 million, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 took a dive to $48.1 million—which the Times notes is down 72% over last week's opening weekend juggernaut. Friends With Benefits was third, with $18.5 million, while Transformers grabbed $12 million and Horrible Bosses took in $11.7 million. More»

Deathly Hallows Part 2 collects $475.6M globally in massive opening weekend

(NEWSER) - Harry Potter went out with a true bang: The final installment in the wizarding saga, the Deathly Hallows Part 2, notched almost half a billion dollars internationally, with an opening weekend take of $475.6 million. That shattered the previous record, Harry Potter and the Half -Blood Prince, which the Hollywood Reporter notes pulled in a not-so-paltry $394 million. On the domestic front, Deathly Hallows Part 2 pushed The Dark Knight out of the way by more than $10 million, with $168.6 million . More»