By: Patricia Manuelle S. Taboada
This article was originally published in Sun Star Cebu (Weekend Edition) on October 10, 2009.

Beejay Bautista wasn’t much of a reader of anything science fiction and fantasy, but all it took was one look at the trailer of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone back in 2001 for him to change his mind.

“I had a hard time imagining stories’ magical and seemingly out-of-this-world events,” the 27-year-old Java analyst shares. “After seeing the scenes for the Quidditch match in the teaser for the first movie, I started reading the first four books, which were the only ones in the series released as of that date.”

The tales of Harry Potter and his adventures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry by author J.K. Rowling fascinated him so much that it only took a couple of weeks for him to finish all novels.

Quidditch refers to the most popular sport in the wizarding community, played by wizards and witches all over the world. Hogwarts is a boarding school where children go not only to learn and practice magic, but to control their abilities. And of course, Harry Potter, the central and the most pivotal character of Rowling’s 7-part series, is a wizard orphaned at the age of one by the evil Lord Voldemort.

Harry Potter has become very popular with children and adults alike, contrary to the common misconception that the books are only for kids. Frances Sangil, a professor of the De La Salle University in Manila and a fan of the series, questions whether the presence of teen characters automatically classifies a book as juvenile literature. “What about the presence of serious themes such as death and sacrifice and bullying and intolerance, and the sober way it is handled in the narrative?” she says.

The popularity of the series is a worldwide phenomenon, and the books have since expanded to film adaptations, merchandise, and an upcoming theme park , making it one of the most successful franchises of all time.

The Philippines is no exception to this phenomenon. In 2001, an online community called Hogwarts Philippines was established to bring together Filipino Harry Potter fans and create a venue for them to explore and share their love for the series. The members of the forum mostly interact through their message board. Apart from discussion on the books and the films, they also talk about other common interests such as literature, film, television and hobbies.

The activities of Hogwarts Philippines are not limited to their online portal. They have established a tie-up with a local bookstore for the launch of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which later went on to include the releases of Half-Blood Prince and the final book, Deathly Hallows. In 2006, the group had an activity with the orphans of the Jesus Loves the Children Foundation called Magic Works. Some of their members have been speakers at events such as the Manila International Book Fair in 2007, and they have also been facilitating book discussions, forums and storytelling as part of their outreach programs.

“I believe Hogwarts Philippines is more than just a fan group,” shares Marivic Aguilar, a senior specialist from the Department of Trade and Industry. “It is a partnership of enthusiasts who actually would like to do good for the community, to try to live up to the positive values embodied in the books.”

Hogwarts Philippines has over 1,000 registered members, most of which are coming from the Greater Manila Area. “We do have members from other cities and provinces,” says Meann Ortiz, a forum moderator. “But every time we have events, they get a little lonely. We want to meet Harry Potter fans from around the country!”

Bautista adds, “Hogwarts Philippines is a place where you can actually be special in a way. It’s an e...

[ Full reading ]

MANILA, July 27 — There’s no stopping Harry Potter from waving his magic wand at the Philippine box-office! The formidable film franchise has now crossed the elite P1-billion milestone (P1, 012,396,258 to be exact) as the series’ sixth installment, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” grossed a wicked P157.59-million as of July 26 or after only 12 days of release. This was announced today by Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner Bros. (F.E.), Inc. which distributed the film locally.

The “Harry Potter” franchise becomes the first movie series to collectively breach the P1-billion ceiling in gross sales in the Philippines, besting other blockbuster franchises like “Spider-Man,” “Star Wars,” “The Lord of the Rings,” “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “James Bond.”

“This is another major accomplishment for the `Harry Potter’ franchise and Warner Bros.,” said Soliven in making the announcement. “The public’s fascination with Harry, Ron and Hermione and their magical adventures is unprecedented and will continue to endure for ages to come. We’re pleased and proud to have been instrumental in bringing the world of Harry Potter to the people.”

The success of the film adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s beloved books started in 2001’s “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” which grossed a commanding P137.50-million, and subsequently followed by 2002’s “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” (P156.34-million), 2004’s “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” (P147.17-million), 2005’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” (P199.51-million) and 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” (P214.27-million).

The franchise comes to its conclusion with “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2” to be released in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects that new dangers may lie within Hogwarts, but Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort’s defenses—critical information known only to Hogwarts’ former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). As romance blossoms around him, Harry remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Still playing across the Philippines, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.

Source: Warner Bros. Phils.

MANILA, July 20 -- “The Half-Blood Prince” is the full-fledged king of Philippine box-office! The sixth installment of the “Harry Potter” saga rewrote the record books, posting a royal P104.77-million nationwide four-day opening weekend (July 16-19) in 310 screens. This was announced today by Francis Soliven, general manager of Warner Bros. Philippines, the film’s local distributor.



That figure represents the all-time biggest four-day opening weekend in Philippine history (beating 2007’s “Transformers’ at P103.87-million). “Prince” also broke the fastest time (four days) for a “Harry Potter” film to breach the P100-million milestone (outpacing 2007’s “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” which achieved the feat in five days).

The incredible opening of “Half-Blood Prince” now makes the “Harry Potter” saga the undisputed most successful franchise ever in local history, with an accumulated gross of a staggering P959-million (surpassing the “Spider-Man” franchise’s P910.32-million overall take).

“The victorious streak of `Harry Potter’ continues with this sixth installment, and we couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Soliven. “It has been an unbelievable run, and we know the best is yet to come with the final two `Harry’ movies in 2010 and 2011,” he added.

“Prince” bowed in only 123 locations across the country, with SM Mall of Asia (including IMAX) as the box-office champion with a magical gross of P8.70-million. Close to its heels are SM North EDSA (including IMAX Digital) at P7.79-M, Trinoma (P5.68-M), SM Megamall (P4.11-M), Glorietta 4 (P3.86-M), Gateway (P3.67-M), Power Plant (P3.14-M), Eastwood (P2.98-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.74-M) and Shangri-la (P2.54-M).

Completing the Top 20 cinemas are Alabang Town Center (P2.48-M), Robinsons Ermita (P2.33-M), Ayala Cebu (P2.09-M), SM Cebu (P2.08-M), Robinsons Galleria (P1.99-M), Festival (P1.91-M), SM San Lazaro (P1.79-M), Greenhills (P1.75-M), Market Market (P1.59-M) and SM Fairview (P1.57-M).

In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) suspects that new dangers may lie within Hogwarts, but Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. He needs Harry to help him uncover a vital key to unlocking Voldemort’s defenses—critical information known only to Hogwarts’ former Potions Professor, Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent). As romance blossoms around him, Harry remains aloof with far more important matters on his mind. He is determined to make his mark, albeit a dark one. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.

Still playing across the Philippines, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Entertainment Company.

Source: Warner Bros. Phils.

For those who are new to Hogwarts Philippines, we're not just about the fierce battle for House Points or costumes or movies or media appearance; sometimes PHP embarks on charity work too. These activities are called "Magic Works" - inspired by the song from the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire film, but also because we are trying to put the magic of love and generosity to work, and to show our less fortunate fellow Filipinos that indeed, magic does work.

Our new Magic Works project comes to us as a request from HM Cherie. She has taken the time out to help a children's village in Lipa, Batangas and she wants to know if PHP can help too. Here's the backgrounder from HMC:

there are only two orphanages in lipa city.... one is SOS Philippines and the other is with the Mother Ciarra Buonarotti Convent. SOS village, though, is technically not an orphanage because they actually create foster homes for the orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children - they create homes and families. although they are funded, they of course do not have the luxury of buying more than what is "needed." so, it would really be nice if we can give these kids a little more. to see just how adorable the kids are, you can view my birthday album - HERE.

they were sooooooooo happy to see the box full of old toys. =)

the director told me that they could use more old clothes and toiletries. but since there are quite a lot of kids there (10 years old and below), old toys would be a great donation as well.

i hope phpers can spare some old clothing, old toys, and toiletries. yung three orphans from the convent, i think some nice girly clothes would be good (they go to the private school kasi which is also owned by the same congregation. libre na sila dun. naka-uniform naman pero shempre im sure there will be times na they have to wear casual.) stuffed toys seemed to hit it with these angels. age nila is from 8 to 12 years. tatlo lang sila. : )

the official website of the children's village is www.sosphilippines.org.

Right now, we're not yet sure how to facilitate the donation of the clothes and toys. We will post about this again. However, you can also donate some cash, and HMC will take care of buying the toiletries for the kids.

If you're interested to donate (any small amount of money you can spare can go a long way), you can drop by the PHP booth at the Warner Roadshow event in SM Megamall on July 17th-19th and course your donation through a Faculty member or Student Leader. If you can't make it to any of the events this weekend and are still interested to donate, please send a PM to an Administrator or post here.

We are targetting to deliver the items to the kids during the PHP Southern Luzon Tour Batangas Leg on July 26th.

Here's hoping we can all make some magic for these kids.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince opened worldwide yesterday to the tune of $58.2M in the U.S. and $45.8 in foreign markets, totaling $104M in 24 hours. This is the second biggest opening day ever in the U.S. market, just behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which earned $62M domestic. It is also the biggest opening day for any Harry Potter film. HBP also had the highest earning ever for midnight shows, selling $22.2M in the US, overtaking the previous record of $18.5 set by The Dark Knight.

Source: Box Office Mojo

Last weekend, members of Hogwarts Philippines were interviewed for a piece about the series and the fandom by The Manila Times. The article was published today!

To the Filipino fans of Harry Potter, their favorite boy wizard has definitely “grown up.” From being the protagonist of author J.K. Rowling’s children’s novel about a young wizard’s road to heroism, he has definitely evolved into a cultural icon whose story was told through seven books and, so far, six film adaptations.

And as the latest of the six films, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, makes its worldwide debut, his followers say that his magic still remains enchanting as ever. Apparently, it is enough to inspire a number of them to don elaborate robes, carry broomsticks and even discuss his story in the classroom.

You can read the full online version of the article HERE. Of course, you can also check out the newspaper at a news stand nearest you!

Hogwarts Phils. would like to thank Angelo Cantera, Sir Rome Jorge, and Karen Kunawicz.

Warner Bros. Phils. sent us these links to a music video that was made specifically for "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". This debuted recently on MTV.com. You can download the file using any of the links below, choose your preferred format, then Right-Click and Save-As. If that doesn't work, you can also use a downloader program like Orbit Downloader.

Windows Media (asx): High | Medium | Low | Mini (iPod)
Quicktime (mov): High | Medium | Low | Mini (iPod)

Thank you to Warner Bros. Phils.!

---

MTV Movies spoke with HBP director, David Yates, and he discussed the tricky nature of adapting the 6th book. He also talked a bit about the ending of the film, and a scene that was never shot: (spoiler warning if you haven't seen the film)

Spoiler:

“We had the funeral in the script at one point and it was a really strange experience. But after the courtyard scene and Dumbledore’s died, it felt like going to the funeral just felt like we were suffering from ending-itis. It felt like another end. In a book you can enjoy that journey but in the rhythm of a darkened cinema, it felt like the right place to end”

Click HERE to read the entire article. [Spoiler Warning!]

---

Film School Rejects has an excellent Movie Watchers' Guide to the Harry Potter Universe for those who are not too familiar about the series and need a refresher. Click HERE to read the article.