Watson Waves Goodbye to Harry Potter

'Harry Potter' star banked $41M, ranks just 14th among moneymakers

(NEWSER) - Emma Watson made more money last year than any other actress in the world. The Harry Potter star banked over $30 million from acting and modeling jobs; she has worked on ad campaigns for Burberry and People Tree. Watson ranked 14th on Vanity Fair 's list of Hollywood's top moneymakers, well below fellow Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who made $41 million last year. At No. 6, Radcliffe is the highest-ranked actor, below a who's who of superstar producers. More»

(NEWSER) - Though rarely a fan of wizards and witches, the Vatican has declared the latest Harry Potter film a positive tale of “friendship, altruism, loyalty" that achieves the "correct balance" in depicting teen romance, reports the Guardian. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, opening today, makes clear that good must overcome evil "and that sometimes this requires costs and sacrifice," said a review in the Holy See's newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano. More»

Sixth installment is one of the best in the series

(NEWSER) - Our sixth cinematic trip to Hogwarts holds onto the magic with stunning visuals, great acting, and a maturing storyline:

• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is “spellbinding, even though it is more grounded in reality and less fanciful than previous installments,” writes Claudia Puig in USA Today. “The cinematography is stunning, and the story unfolds in a stately and unhurried fashion.”

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»

Cast burbles on last day in latest Warner Bros. film

(NEWSER) - Now it can be shown: The last day of filming of the last Harry Potter movie was not so magical. It was rather heartbreaking. Cast mates applauded one another, and burbled, and recalled their amazing time together and expressed grief that it was over. "How do I put into words such an incredible experience?" asks Emma Watson on a just-released Warner Brothers film of the Big Wrap. "I feel so blessed that I was chosen. I was given the chance to experience all this and have this be part of my life. We were the chosen ones. We were very lucky." More»