By Tina Zhu
It’s 10:40 p.m. in Downtown Berkeley, and the line at the United Artists Theater near Shattuck and Bancroft has already started moving. The last Harry Potter movie has officially hit cinemas nationwide.
Hundreds of excited moviegoers banded around the edge of the Berkeley Public Library in anticipation of the midnight showing on Thursday night. According to theater employee Yurida Ramos, devoted fans started lining up for the film at least around 1:00 p.m.
“Since this is the last one, people are more excited,” said Ramos, who has worked for the Berkeley UA 7 for a year and a half. “A lot more dressed up this year.”
Five UA screens played the film at midnight, and two played at 3:00 a.m. Pre-sale tickets were sold out for every showing except for one of the 3:00 a.m. showings.
“Harry Potter is one of the busiest consistently every time,” said Assistant Manager Andrew Morales. “There’s a bigger following for this than Twilight.”
Although Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II marks the end of the Harry Potter saga, not all has been said and done. Author J. K. Rowling is launching website Pottermore in October, where — for some of us — the magic will continue.
