Remastered Harry Potter Film Gets Re-screen in China
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, remastered in both 3D and 4K versions, was screened in China on Friday.
Chinese fans were elated with the announcement, with the hashtag “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone re-screened” trending on China’s Twitter-like Weibo on Friday morning. A fan commented: “I’m ready to return to Hogwarts!”
As of 8 p.m. on Friday., the film had earned nearly 30 million yuan, accounting for more than half of the total box office sales for the whole day, according to movie service platform Maoyan. On Maoyan.com, the film currently holds a rating of 9.2 out of 10 based on around 19,000 reviews.
“I accidentally discovered some details that I didn’t notice before,” said Min Jiaqi, a 23-year-old college student living in Jiangsu Province. “For example, I found the first meeting between the two couples: Harry and Ginny Weasley and Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, very interesting,” Min said.
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Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc said on March 19 in a statement that the remastered versions of the film would hit Chinese cinemas soon. The studio announced the news with a poster featuring Potter’s pet owl swooping in with Potter’s acceptance letter addressed in green ink.
“I exploded with excitement when I heard the re-screening news, and I immediately started to check the official screening date,” said Min.
The film premiered in the UK on Nov. 4, 2001, and was released in China on Jan. 26, 2002. The re-screening plan for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone started as early as 2019, according to Zhao Fang, managing director for Warner Bros China, in a talk with Jiemian.
Zhao said they didn’t think about the re-screening because of the epidemic. They mainly hoped to give Harry Potter fans who didn’t watch the movie on the big screen in 2002 a chance to see it.
“The market feedback after the film’s release may affect the re-screening of subsequent Harry Potter films on the big screen,” Zhao said.
Since the reopening of Chinese cinemas on July 20, cinemas have been operating at 30% capacity. Starting this weekend, the restriction will further loosen to encourage cinemas to embrace bigger blockbusters. The occupancy limitation rate will increase to 50% and there will be no half-time interlude for films that run more than 120 minutes.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is a 2001 fantasy film based on JK Rowling’s 1997 novel of the same name. After the film’s debut, elements such as Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, flying broomsticks, and the magical sport of Quidditch have set off a wave of magical worlds around the world.
In 2021, Beijing Universal Resort will open, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park.
