Today in History

What went down and why you should care.

nov 16 Learn More First Harry Potter Film Opens


The first Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, opened on this day in 2001. Originally, Warner Brothers wanted to combine all of J.K. Rowling's books into one film (what?!), perhaps using CGI animation (no!), to avoid dealing with child actors and their tendency to, well, grow up. Sounds less than magical, right? That's what Rowling thought, too, and she put the kibosh on it. Instead, eight Potter films were shot back-to-back to keep up with their quickly maturing stars.

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