Potter Fans Flock to Newton Theater for Midnight Showing, Costumes and All

The AMC Chestnut Hill 5 played its role in a global phenomenon late Thursday night, selling out its midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.

The Newton premiere of the seventh film in the immensely popular franchise sold out early last week, according to AMC manager Freemen Williams. AMC sold 859 tickets between three theaters.

Anticipation for the seventh film has been high all across the world, as reflected at AMC early this morning.

According to a woman at the ticket booth, the earliest fans began trickling in around 4 p.m. By 10:30, taxi cabs populated the parking lot to drop off fans and the doors to the theater were rarely closed as people made their way in.

But lines were never out the door, as AMC allowed fans to move right in to the theaters after collecting their tickets as early as 9 p.m.

Williams said the theater was prepared for a busy night.

"People are excited for Potter movies," Williams said. "It's usually a pretty busy night."

Boston College students made up the majority of the evening's theater-goers.

"I guess BC has a lot of Harry Potter fans," said Jim Tarca, a BC sophomore from Connecticut.

Tarca theorized that because the current generation of college students grew up reading Harry Potter, as it came out during their childhood, they have kept up with the series through the seven books (and films) and have formed a special relationship with the franchise.

"They're growing old with Harry Potter," he said with a laugh.

The first Harry Potter book--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone--was published in the United States in 1998. Most college students now were between the ages of 6- and 10-years old at the time, lining them up well with the 11-year-old wizard they would follow for the next 10 years. 

But another BC sophomore, Luke Feehan of New York, thought the reasons for the high number of students at the premiere was less complex.

"We're right there," he said (BC's campus is only 1.9 miles from the theater). "And college kids are the only ones out at midnight on Thursday to see a show."

Feehan did admit that he was not a particularly enthusiastic Potter fan.

A number of students wore BC garments, putting themselves conveniently in costume. BC's distinctive maroon-and-gold colors are shared by Gryffindor, Harry's fictional house at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Some came in full costume, dressed as Potter, his friends Hermione and Ron, or his professors.

"Potter movies always bring people out in costume," Williams said.

There were some exceptions to BC's domination of the crowd. Casey Fernald, a 12-year-old from Charlestown, attended his first ever midnight showing. Casey said he began reading Harry Potter in the second grade and quickly became hooked. Casey attended the showing with his parents, Todd and Tracy.

Though author J.K. Rowling told the Harry Potter saga in seven parts, The Deathly Hallows is being released in two parts. While Warner Bros., who through six films have already totaled over $5.4 billion in gross revenue, is certainly hoping to cash in on a two-part finale, fans are excited that the penultimate chapter will be granted more time to tell its story.

"Some of the movies haven't (been able to fit in) everything from the books, so it's been disappointing," BC freshman Taylor Stiegler said. "But in two parts, hopefully they'll fit everything."