Film farewells don't get much bigger than Harry Potter, and thousands of fans prepared on Thursday to say goodbye to their beloved boy wizard at the world premiere of the final movie in the record-breaking series.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2" is the eighth installment -- and first in 3D -- of a franchise that has generated more public excitement and media hype than any other in living memory.
For Hollywood studio Warner Bros it has been a magic pot of gold, with the seven films released so far grossing $6.4 billion in ticket sales and billions more from DVDs and merchandise.
For a generation of Potter fans, the movies have extended the wizarding world created by British author J.K. Rowling in her seven-book saga which began in 1997 and concluded in 2007.
More than 400 million copies have been sold around the globe, making Rowling the first author billionaire and providing a huge support base upon which the films built.
"We've grown up in the Harry Potter generation -- I read the first book when I was five so now it's weird that it's coming to an end ... like the end of childhood," said Rhys, an 18-year-old who braved the rain in London's Trafalgar Square.
Die-hard fans, some in full regalia from the fictional Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, have camped out since Monday to catch a glimpse of the stars as they walk the red carpet at the official world premiere.
The young actors, cast in their roles aged between nine and 11, said they too were struggling to get to grips with the post-Potter world, despite being A-list stars with huge personal fortunes.
"After we finished (filming) a year ago now I have felt a little bit lost without it, really, and not really knowing what to do with myself," said 22-year-old Rupert Grint, who plays Potter's main sidekick Ron Weasley.
"It's been such a constant part of my life and to suddenly have that come down to this one film, it is quite sad and I'm really genuinely going to miss it and miss everyone."
Actress Emma Watson has decided to study in the US because she was feeling lonely here after the "Harry Potter" franchise got over.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final movie of the popular boy wizard, has set a new US box office record after raking in $43.5 million dollars from midnight screenings alone.
Harry Potter star Emma Watson thinks that young girls should be taught to be tough and strong rather than being pretty and polite like a princess from a fairytale.
Actress Emma Watson, who will be next seen in director Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being A Wallflower, is all set to flaunt her body in the film.
Actress Emma Watson is looking forward to spend a normal life now as the "hard and pressurised" filming of Harry Potter franchise is over.
Film farewells don't get much bigger than Harry Potter, and thousands of fans prepared on Thursday to say goodbye to their beloved boy wizard at the world premiere of the final movie in the record-breaking series.
Rupert Grint has confessed that his onscreen kiss with Emma Watson in the final instalment of the 'Harry Potter' film series would be to be 'a bit of an anticlimax' for viewers.
Actor Daniel Radcliffe revealed he became dependent on alcohol when he was 18 while struggling to cope with the pressures of fame.
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final adventure in the Harry Potter film series, is a much-anticipated motion picture event to be told in two full-length parts.
