Local Fans Flock To Theaters For Last 'Harry Potter' Movie
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Harry Potter fans in Chicago and across the country on Thursday began flocking to theaters for a bittersweet event: watching the final installment in the 10-year-old film series.
Fans sat in line at AMC River East for up to 12 hours to be some of the first in line to see the film's premier.
Fans included the wizard Dumbledore – or a student dressed up like the character. It took the Chicago film major four hours to glue on the hair and powder up.
Moving up the line, some fans passed the time by watching previous Potter films.
"We've been fans since the very beginning. So it's kind of fun to be here where it's all coming to an end," one fan told CBS 2's Pamela Jones.
As WBBM Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports, even before it opened, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" is the top advance ticket seller this year.
LISTEN: Newsradio 780's Regine Schlesinger reports
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Fandango says in its 11-year history, advance sales for the last Harry Potter movie are on track to take second place only to the 2009 Twilight Saga movie.
Several Harry Potter events were planned around the area.
Park Ridge hosts a Hooray for Harry Potter concert at 8 p.m. Friday in Hodges Park, 20 S. Prospect Ave., and the Discovery Center Museum at 711 N. Main St. in Rockford is being transformed into a school of sorcery for its "Open House at Hogwarts" during the day Friday.
If you want to host a farewell party for Harry, you might want to check out Dinah Bucholz's Unofficial Harry Potter cookbook. It contains recipes for every food mentioned in the Harry Potter books. For example, Harry's favorite dessert, treacle tart.
You can't be sure how your treacle tart will be received, but the new Harry Potter movie gets 3 1/2 stars from critic Roger Ebert, who calls the darker eighth film a solid and satisfying conclusion.
