"It's a little melancholy," observes Johanna Winant, a doctoral student in literature at the University of Chicago. Winant grew up in Mount Airy inhaling the seven books that vividly detail seven years in the life of the orphaned wizard who acquires the skills and courage to avenge his parents' deaths.
Not only the fans of J.K. Rowling's hero are experiencing symptoms of withdrawal. For film execs and book publishers, educators and costume merchants, e-tailers and neighborhood booksellers, the pangs are likewise acute.
Nearly as universal as Harry's appeal is admiration for his cultural impact. Harry Potter has broken publishing and box-office records, boosted adolescent reading habits, erased the line between young-adult and adult fiction, and had a steroidal impact on the profits of Amazon.com.
"It's the highest-grossing franchise in the history of the motion-picture industry," says Fellman, president of theatrical distribution for Warner.
"Usually, the law of diminishing returns applies to movie franchises," says Paul Dergarabedian, analyst at Hollywood.com, who notes that from the first Harry film, in 2001, to the seventh, in 2010, box office has been consistently strong. "No other series has had a trajectory like this."
The series made millionaires of its young stars. Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), 21, pocketed $20 million for each of the last two Harry films, while Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), 21, and Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), 22, earned $15 million apiece.
