["Prisoner of Azkaban" Makes History! The first film in the world to earn over $100 million worldwide on its opening day!]
["Prisoner of Azkaban" rakes in $51.49 million on its North American opening day — a new single-day box office record for North America! The next day it pulls in $58.26 million — smashing the North American single-day record again!]
["Prisoner of Azkaban" becomes the first film in North American box-office history to repeatedly break the single-day record!]
["Prisoner of Azkaban" aims for $1 billion — it may become, after "Titanic," the second film in the world to top $1 billion. Isabella Haywood may become the highest-grossing actress of the new century thanks to "Prisoner of Azkaban"!]
["Prisoner of Azkaban" is now the best adaptation in the "Harry Potter" series! Chris Columbus has given us endless surprises! He has successfully brought a children's book into the adult world!]
[Darkness reveals warmth; great love blooms in desperate times! "Prisoner of Azkaban" is the best movie of the year — but it will not be the best film in the "Harry Potter" series, because I'm always waiting for the next one!]
["Prisoner of Azkaban" is one of the greatest fantasy films ever made!]
After "Prisoner of Azkaban" repeatedly broke records and shook North America, only praise remained in its world.
That's not only because the film business is winner-takes-all and victors seize everything.
It's also because — to be honest — no media outlet now dares to criticize Warner.
Warner was the one that beat Fox to a pulp. If Barry Meyer is willing to roll up his sleeves and take down Rupert Murdoch, what media would dare to pick a fight with that kind of executioner? At this moment, anyone who criticizes "Prisoner of Azkaban" risks Barry Meyer finding out.
And if Barry Meyer wanted revenge, they'd be finished.
They are just small targets; they cannot withstand a counterstrike. The world is realistic: the wise act according to circumstances. Since media outlets don't dare trash "Prisoner of Azkaban," reporting related to it loses much of its negative value.
Well… it still has value.
Emotional value.
So the honest audience responses to "Prisoner of Azkaban" mostly appeared on emerging online communities.
Meanwhile, with so many people rating the film, IMDb opened its scores on day one.
On opening day, June 4, "Prisoner of Azkaban" had a 9.1 on IMDb from 49,000 ratings.
That number clearly came from fans.
On the second day, June 5, the IMDb rating was 8.9 from 95,000 ratings.
It dropped, but that's fine — for big commercial movies an IMDb benchmark of quality is around 7. Anything above 7 is considered good.
Still, nearly 100,000 ratings in two days is terrifying: many films are born and forgotten without drawing that much attention.
Rotten Tomatoes also opened ratings on day one: critics' freshness was 95%.
Again, many critics with reputations now avoid saying anything negative.
Audience "popcorn" score was 96%.
That number will drop, but the start is excellent.
Cold numbers cannot fully express real feelings. More extravagant than numbers were the reviews spreading across IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Yahoo Movies, MSN Entertainment, and so on.
For example:
"This is the best 'Harry Potter' movie I've seen! The visual effects are insanely cool — especially the opening Bus sequence; that scene's tension is the epitome of thrill!"
Or:
"This is the darkest 'Harry Potter' yet! Chris Columbus's technique amazed me — I didn't expect a director known for warmth to master a brooding, dark tone so perfectly."
"The Dementors are brilliantly designed! Hogwarts's shadowy corridors are thrilling! The final sequence where Harry is surrounded by Dementors, clinging to his godfather, moved me to tears!"
"Honestly, the part that made me cry the most was when time was remade and Harry saved himself!"
"The whole movie's logic is astonishingly coherent."
"Chris Columbus might be Spielberg's best student!"
And:
"Wow! I need to recommend this to all my friends. This movie surprised me so much!"
"I only started reading 'Harry Potter' seriously half a month ago; I used to read comics — I'm a Marvel fan. I used to think 'Harry Potter' was a children's book. Even in the first two films I felt that. But after watching 'Prisoner of Azkaban' — OMG!"
"I only have OMG to describe my feelings right now!"
"When reading 'Prisoner of Azkaban,' I felt echoes of Peter Parker."
"Harry Potter and Peter Parker have many similarities: both lost their parents early, both have incomplete childhoods, both gain abilities by accident and start adventures. The difference is Peter had an uncle who loved him from the start, while Harry's aunt and uncle hated him. Peter became a hero after his uncle's death, while Harry — to be honest — from the first two books didn't feel like a superhero. 'Prisoner of Azkaban' changed my mind: once he learns someone loves him, Harry gains the will to live."
"Frankly, I now wonder why 'Harry Potter' is called children's literature. Harry's story has curve and arc; his growth is measurable."
Indeed, Harry's growth and Peter Parker's arc share similarities. That's also why Isabella, seeing Marvel fans suddenly focusing on "Harry Potter," dared to absorb some of those fans.
From "Prisoner of Azkaban" onward, Harry's tale truly enters the adult world.
Before that, Harry only knew he must oppose Voldemort; beyond that, he had many question marks. Put bluntly, Harry didn't even know why he was fighting Voldemort — supposed revenge for his parents or fighting evil felt like obligations imposed on him. He lacked choice.
The arrival of his godfather Sirius Black completely changed his world. He discovered that people cared about him; that knowledge gave him a reason to protect the good around him and to start living for himself.
As "Harry Potter" matured, it began to touch mature Marvel fans and Spider-Man fans; therefore the box office trajectory became wildly exaggerated.
On June 6, Sunday, the third day of release, "Prisoner of Azkaban" took $44.27 million in North America. Compared to the previous day, it dropped 24%, but it still ranked second on the single-day North American box-office chart — only behind "Shrek 2" with $44.79 million.
In its first three days, "Prisoner of Azkaban" had completely reshuffled the top five single-day box-office list in North America. This result pulverized all competitors.
When June 7 came, weekday attendance caused a clifflike decline.
Day four, it took $15.54 million (a 65.3% drop from the day before).
June 8, Tuesday, day five: $13.36 million (down another 14%).
June 9, Wednesday, day six: $11.15 million (down 16.5%).
June 10, Thursday, day seven: $10.01 million (down 10.2%).
On the surface it looks like "Prisoner of Azkaban" peaked at the start and then slid.
But actually:
First, films that post daily North American grosses above $10 million for seven consecutive days had never existed before. "Prisoner of Azkaban" set a new record.
Second, after seven days of $10M+ daily, its North American total passed $200 million.
As of June 10's tally, "Prisoner of Azkaban" had $204.08 million in North America — another new record.
The numbers make people tremble.
"Good thing we pulled our release," someone said.
"Otherwise we'd have been smashed by it."
"When a film like this reaches parity with 'Titanic,' studios can stop worrying — miracles can't be replicated easily. If 'Prisoner of Azkaban' has become a miracle, they no longer need to explain to bosses why Warner turned miraculous while they didn't. Only when the film's returns are mediocre would they truly worry."
Still, "miracles" leave traces and their beneficiaries can be analyzed. And as for who created and benefited from the miracle…
"I think there's no need to analyze — the answer is in our faces."
Paramount's data-management VP waved a report: "According to third-party data, 91% of people liked Hermione Granger in 'Prisoner of Azkaban' — her smart, vivid portrayal stood out."
"Especially the dramatic scene before the final battle. That chunk of dialogue with Lupin made her character feel three-dimensional."
"Regarding intent to see the film: of the $200M North American audience, only 73% had seen previous films, but 86% had done at least one of these: watched 'The Voice' (Isabella's show), bought one of Isabella's singles, or seen Isabella on variety TV."
"Everyone surveyed who mentioned Isabella had no malice. That stat…"
"Is unbeatable."
Chuckles erupted in Paramount's conference room — "unbeatable" left them helpless.
Isabella now shone like a sun — well, she had become a sun when she made "The Voice."
"Okay, since analysis is pointless, what do we do next?" Shelly Lansing knocked her knuckles. "Isabella will not cooperate with us, so forget luring her — but there are other things we can do. For instance…"
"…Try to take DreamWorks?"
Whenever a star comparable to the sun emerges, Hollywood studios all do one thing: they try every possible way to court the newcomer.
Because small stars rely on hype, but superstars rely on fate.
You can't just manufacture a legend.
And as for Isabella right now… calling her a "superstar" would almost be an insult.
What superstar can dominate every field they touch?
She and the so-called "superstars" aren't even in the same dimension anymore.
So, of course, everyone wants to win her over.
But Isabella, at this stage, won't take on any work outside of Harry Potter.
First, she has no time.
Second, for someone at her level, if she wants something, all she has to do is open her mouth. People will rush to hand her resources. Giants in the industry are nothing but laborers compared to her.
Since she can turn every outside opportunity into her own project, other power players have no way to "embrace" her.
Because with the kind of relationship she has with Barry Meyer and Robert Iger, no other studio even qualifies to send her resources.
Still, just because the top-tier projects are untouchable doesn't mean others in her company are off-limits.
Uh… fine.
Let's be honest — we're talking about Margot Robbie.
Paramount already heard that DreamWorks' next big project has been reserved by a mysterious player.
No one said who, but…
There are only a handful of people in Hollywood who can book something from Steven Spielberg himself.
And if Spielberg's keeping it secret, then… well, that's not really a secret, is it?
At this point, it's obvious Isabella won't be starring in Transformers.
Her agency so far has only signed one actor — everyone else is a singer.
So… that's that.
When Paramount saw all this clearly laid out, their biggest goal became to collaborate with DreamWorks, sign a long-term distribution deal, and co-produce its projects — hoping to bask in Isabella's reflected glory.
Basically the same strategy they used when they cast Margot Robbie in Queen Bee.
The only difference now is that Universal (and its parent company, General Electric) also wants in on DreamWorks.
And since there's competition, cooperation won't come easy. But Sherry Lansing made her position clear — if necessary, just raise the price. When someone like Isabella becomes that powerful, any premium is worth paying.
As long as Isabella's involved in Transformers — even as a producer — that's enough.
And so…
"I think that's fine."
"I think it's worth a try."
"Uh… I'd say there's no rush. Let's wait and see. Queen Bee releases next month — we'll gauge the numbers first. Also, I doubt Universal can lock down DreamWorks anytime soon."
"Yeah, that makes sense. If we wait a month, we'll also see where Prisoner of Azkaban's box office lands. If it crosses a billion… though, honestly, I think it will — but still, what if?"
"Hmm… fair point."
"I support it."
"Same here."
With everyone agreeing to wait, Paramount calmed their nerves.
Meanwhile, Universal had the same plan.
They'd never wanted to let DreamWorks go anyway, and now?
Now that Isabella was rewriting the laws of success, they'd have to be insane not to join the table.
So, both studios waited — to go all in later.
Paramount and Universal were swamped. As for the others in Hollywood…
Fox, which no longer had any chance of working with Isabella, stayed silent.
Sony, desperate for a yearly box office crown, was swearing under its breath.
And MGM…
Forget it. Nobody cares what MGM has to say anymore.
Days passed under the public's watchful eyes.
After Prisoner of Azkaban hit $200 million in North America within seven days, its growth slowed — everyone who wanted to see it already had.
The later audience was mostly casual viewers or repeat watchers.
In its second week, it earned $62.16 million in North America — averaging $8.88 million per day.
Not bad.
But compared to others?
Sorcerer's Stone made $66.53 million in its second week, and Spider-Man did $88.91 million.
So, objectively, Azkaban's week two wasn't great.
Like Albin's results — respectable but not record-breaking.
In reality, the Harry Potter series' box office ceiling in North America was probably between $350 and $380 million — it wasn't hitting Spider-Man's $400 million range.
But that didn't matter.
Spider-Man was a homegrown, American cultural icon.
For an imported IP like Harry Potter to even approach $400 million on American soil was already a massive success.
And Harry Potter wasn't just a North American IP — it was global.
By the time Azkaban hit $266 million domestically, it had already grossed $418 million overseas.
That's right — Harry Potter's global-to-domestic ratio was way higher than most.
Spider-Man's was 50/50.
Normal films are 60/40.
But Harry Potter? 70/30.
If North America exploded, the rest of the world went nuclear.
With $684 million in two weeks, Azkaban was guaranteed to break a billion — especially since, back then, theaters still used film reels, and many countries hadn't even released it yet.
So professionals stopped paying attention — it was a foregone conclusion.
But when the third week ended, the North American market was still shocked.
Not just because Azkaban broke $300 million —
but because from June 4 to June 24, it held the #1 daily box office spot for 21 straight days.
Every new release crashed and burned.
Fox's Garfield tanked — $48.77 million after 14 days.
DreamWorks' The Terminal tanked too — $27.9 million after 7 days.
The industry fell silent. Everyone was wondering when the Hogwarts magic would finally fade.
Then…
On June 25, 2004, Fahrenheit 9/11 opened with $8.56 million, finally ending Azkaban's streak.
And by June 30, Spider-Man 2 arrived — smashing $40.44 million on its first day.
It didn't quite match the original Spider-Man's phenomenon, but its arrival marked Azkaban's exit.
Still — holding the top spot for an entire month was insane.
Even crazier…
On July 1, 2004 — Azkaban's 31st day —
it officially crossed $350 million in North America and hit $1 billion worldwide.
Azkaban became the second film in history after Titanic to pass $1 billion — and it did it 42 days faster than Titanic's 73.
Sure, that speed had context — it was the third Harry Potter movie, and the first two had already grossed nearly $1.8 billion combined.
And Isabella had also launched the hottest TV show of the new millennium.
Still, doubling Titanic's pace left the whole world speechless.
Even more shocking:
"Isabella's total career box office has surpassed $3 billion!"
"She's the youngest actor in history to reach $3 billion worldwide!"
That news made Paramount and Universal move fast — racing to secure DreamWorks and Transformers, desperate to cozy up to the queen of Beaver Entertainment.
But someone beat them to it.
That man was Robert Iger.
On July 4, 2004 — one month after Azkaban's U.S. release — Iger flew to Leavesden Studios in London.
The Harry Potter crew was filming the Quidditch World Cup scenes for Goblet of Fire (Part 1) at Ashridge.
Iger's sudden visit surprised everyone — not just because he was Disney's COO, but because he didn't come empty-handed. Behind him were five trucks, one carrying a massive, covered wooden crate.
When they unloaded it, the crew realized it was an eight-foot-tall cake — a chocolate-sculpted Hogwarts castle.
The other trucks carried food, drinks, and decorations.
As the crew laid everything out, it became clear what this was.
"So this is a billion-dollar celebration party?" Chris Columbus laughed. "For Azkaban?"
"Yeah — a billion-dollar party!" Iger clapped his hands and called out, "I know I'm Disney's COO, and throwing you guys a billion-dollar party feels a little off, but who cares, right?"
"I'm sure none of you mind, and besides — Barry Meyer's a cheapskate."
"So come on, let's celebrate!"
"Yeah!"
Leavesden erupted in cheers.
"Thanks, Bob!"
"You're too generous, Bob!"
"Love you, Bob!"
"Come by anytime!"
When someone offers free food, who says no?
Grinning and accepting their thanks, Iger spotted her in the crowd — Isabella, standing with Bonnie, smiling at him.
Their eyes met.
Isabella raised her champagne glass. The red grape juice inside shimmered.
Warmth, excitement — a shared spark.
Iger lifted his own glass in return.