November 1, 2001	Thursday	Shaba’an 14, 1422

LONDON, Oct 31: Harry Potter could sink the Titanic at the box office.

The tale of the boy wizard was eagerly devoured by millions of readers around the globe in 46 languages.

It may now work the same magic at the movies and topple the blockbuster disaster epic, “Titanic”, which set a world record when it grossed 1.8 billion dollars.

“Pottermania is hitting the screens,” said a spokeswoman for the British cinema chain Odeon, which is devoting almost half its screens to “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” when it is released on Nov 16.

Odeon received 20,000 ticket enquiries from fervent fans before the box office even opened.

“It could be a world breaker,” she told Reuters. “We have dedicated 225 of our 599 screens to it. That is more than for ‘Titanic.’”

Industry experts believe the new $125 million Hollywood film about the bespectacled boy wizard will give a major boost to AOL Time Warner Inc’s Warner Bros. film division.

Film journalist Marshall Julius, reflecting on the movie that is to be given its world premiere in London on Sunday, said: “It is entirely possible that this will become the biggest-grossing film ever.”

The publishers of the four J.K. Rowling classics expect the film to add another million copies to book sales when it is launched.

“This will give the books mass appeal and introduce them to a whole new range of readers,” a spokesman for Bloomsbury Publishing Plc said.

But not everyone is happy with the Potter bonanza.

A marketing deal with Coca-Cola Co has sparked an any angry reaction from diehard Potter fans. The Atlanta-based multinational has agreed with Rowling to finance a three-year campaign to encourage children to read.—Reuters