Harry Potter: Deathly Hallows fell at No. 3 behind the Twilight with its midnight screenings

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I” made $24 million in its debut during the wee hours Friday, enough to pull into third place among films with midnight screenings, according to figures from box-office tracker Hollywood.com.


“Deathly Hallows” fell behind two films in the “Twilight” series. “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse” still is tops with its $30 million-plus debut earlier this year on June 30. And “The Twilight Saga: New Moon” comes in second at $26.3 million for its Nov. 20, 2009 midnight release.


But “Deathly Hallows” is ahead of the last film in the series, fourth-place “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” which made $22.2 million during its midnight run in July 2009. And “Deathly Hallows” is well ahead of fifth-place The Dark Knight,” another film from Time Warner Inc.’s Warner Bros. studios, which made $18.5 million in its July 2008 midnight screenings.

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The Great Movie Franchise Debate from Moviefone: Which is betterTwilight or Harry Potter?

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe says No Rivalry With Twilight star Robert Pattinson (video)

'Twilight' vs. 'Harry Potter:' The Ultimate Smackdown

'Twilight' and 'Harry Potter' are both fantasy books-turned-movies, and they've shared one actor in the form of Mr. Pattinson (who played Cedric in 'Potter' and now plays Edward in 'Twilight'). They have also both achieved cult-like devotion from their rabid fans.

Before the next 'Potter' film comes out on Nov. 19, we're curious to see which movie (and book) series' fans have the strongest base.

For one thing, we're looking for the biggest 'Harry Potter' fans and biggest 'Twilight' fans to submit videos about why they're the best and craziest representatives for their franchise. Think you have what it takes? Submit your video about why you're the biggest 'Harry Potter' or 'Twilight' fan of them all. Winner gets bragging rights and possibly the chance to thumb-wrestle your 'Potter' or 'Twilight' counterpart.

Vote in a poll on Moviefone here.

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Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner in Moviefone's List of Hollywood's Hottest Young Stars Under 25

They're young, they're talented, they're incredibly wealthy ... and they aren't old enough to rent a car at the regular rate.

Welcome to Moviefone's annual 25 Under 25 list, naming the hottest, most successful, most promising young stars in Hollywood today.

From the 'Harry Potter' trio stars to the 'Twilight' kids, from the youngest (11) to the oldest (24), this list is full of established and upcoming talent. Some of our picks, despite their youth, are veterans with several movies under their belts (Shia LaBeouf, Kristen Stewart), while others are just starting out (Jaden Smith, Hailee Steinfeld). We even have three Emmas -- take note, prospective parents trying to think of names.

Moviefone's 25 Under 25 - Full List

Jamie Bell
Emily Browning
Michael Cera
Zac Efron
Elle Fanning
Vanessa Hudgens
Aaron Johnson
Shia LaBeouf
Taylor Lautner
Jennifer Lawrence
Blake Lively
Chloe Moretz
Ellen Page
Robert Pattinson
Alex Pettyfer
Daniel Radcliffe
Emma Roberts
Saoirse Ronan
Amanda Seyfried
Jaden Smith
Hailee Steinfeld
Kristen Stewart
Emma Stone
Mia Wasikowska
Emma Watson

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'Harry Potter' star Daniel Radcliffe to play vampire on 'The Simpsons'

The Simpsons will be taking on The Twilight Saga in their annual "Treehouse of Horror" Halloween episode and Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe will be voicing a vampire named Edmund.

Fans can see a glimpse of what Radcliffe's character, a vampire named Edmund, will look like in art released by Fox (seen right).
In "Tweenlight," which is a short in the episode, Lisa Simpson falls for the new vampire student.

“Daniel was very excited to do The Simpsons,” exec producer Al Jean told Entertainment Weekly in November 2009, “We kept trying to ask him for secrets from the upcoming Harry Potter movie until we realized that they were all in the books.”

Unlike vampires, it looks like Edmund's romance with Lisa won't be eternal. According to the episode synopsis, "When a romance blossoms, the young lovers run away to Dracula-la Land, leaving Homer (Dan Castellaneta) to come to Lisa’s rescue."

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Twilight and Harry Potter: Rival Teen Franchise?

The Wall Street Journal has an article comparing the two movie franchise, Twilight and Harry Potter, both adapted from best selling books. It's marketing strategy, target audience and if there is rival between the two movies.

Hollywood marketing executives say that these days the “Twilight” franchise has influenced almost every studio marketing campaign that targets teenage girls. Some posters for the upcoming “Potter” film echo “Twilight”’s emphasis on romance. One features Harry and his crush, Ginny, gazing longingly into each others’ eyes, in a pose reminiscent of “Twilight”’s now-iconic image of its star-crossed lovers, Bella and Edward. Another shows Harry’s friend Ron with his girlfriend Lavender, while a jealous Hermione scowls in the background.

Warner Bros. and the team behind “Potter” say they didn’t take the “Twilight” franchise into account when designing their marketing materials for “The Half-Blood Prince.” Instead, they crafted a campaign aimed to resonate with previous “Potter” films, the executives and filmmakers say, dismissing the notion that there is a rivalry between the franchises among fans.

“With all due respect to “Twilight,” the longevity and world-wide success of the Harry Potter franchise speaks for itself,” a studio representative said.

The previous five “Potter” films have grossed almost $4.5 billion in world-wide box-office revenue, making the franchise one of the biggest in history. J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter” books have sold more than 400 million copies world-wide, compared with 53 million for Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series. But after 10 years on the New York Times best-seller list, the “Potter” books fell off the children’s-series list last May, and since then have returned only intermittently. Meanwhile, the “Twilight” books have spent 100 weeks on the chart.

Both David Yates, who directed “The Half-Blood Prince,” and David Heyman, the franchise’s longtime producer, say they’ve never seen “Twilight,” and say they deliberately avoided thinking about other franchises when making the “Potter“series. “We live in a bit of a bubble,” said Mr. Heyman, who read the first “Potter” book before it was published in 1997 and immediately had Warner Bros. option the rights. Mr. Yates, who will also direct the final two installments, adds: “J.K. Rowling has given us such a rich and dynamic world that I can’t really look over my shoulder and worry about other teen stories.”

Warner Bros. says the “Potter” movies have become more grown-up in order to follow the narrative of the books and to appeal to an audience that’s getting older. Nearly a decade has elapsed since the “Potter” producers cast an 11-year-old Daniel Radcliffe in the pivotal role of Harry. “As the characters and storylines of the Harry Potter films have matured, our marketing materials have followed suit,” says a studio representative. (A 2006 survey found that the average age kids started reading the series was 9 and that nearly 60% of kids aged 9 to 11 had read it.)

The new “Harry Potter” film, which opens July 15, focuses heavily on the romantic entanglements that mark the entry into adulthood, and features some dark moments—including the death of a major character—that make it more sophisticated than some of the previous movies. The film begins with Harry’s sixth year at Hogwarts, when he discovers an old book of potions marked as property of a mysterious “Half-Blood Prince.” Harry delves into that book and, through a series of flashbacks, learns more about the past of his nemesis Lord Voldemort.

Meanwhile, he and his classmates are also caught up in matters of the heart. There’s frequent talk of “snogging,” as Lavender celebrates Ron’s victory in a quidditch game with a kiss that sends a jealous Hermione into a rage, and Harry sees Ginny kissing another boy.

“There is a much stronger romantic strand in this film than in earlier movies,” says Mr. Yates. “The characters have reached that point in their lives where their hormones are starting to fly and they are exploring sexuality and discovering the opposite sex.”

For its part, Summit Entertainment, the studio behind “Twilight,” says it has been careful to steer clear of the commercial juggernaut that “Potter” has become, especially because its “Twilight” fan base overlaps with the “Potter” audience. The studio says that its strategy has been to avoid releasing any “Twilight” material too close to big release dates for “Harry Potter.”

“It’s the only franchise that we ever pay attention to,” says Rob Friedman, chief executive and co-chairman of Summit Entertainment. “We are very cognizant of where they are, and we’ve always been wary of being in too close proximity to ‘Harry Potter’ because we know our fans cross over so much, and we definitely don’t want to compete with ‘Harry’ for attention.”

Haami Nyangibo, a 13-year-old girl from London, says that after years of reading “Harry Potter” she has come to find the “Twilight” books “far more relatable. They just engage in a more realistic way. A lot of my friends have gone off ‘Harry Potter’ and are onto ‘Twilight,’ ” she says.

For many girls, the appeal of “Twilight” lies in Edward Cullen, the gorgeous vampire who fights his own biological destiny to fall in love with Bella Swan, a human girl.

Robert Pattinson, the 23-year-old British heartthrob with unkempt hair and bedroom eyes who plays Cullen in the “Twilight” movies, has added to Edward’s mystique. Mr. Pattinson also has a history with the “Harry Potter” franchise: He played Harry’s onetime rival, Cedric Diggory, in the past two “Potter” movies.

Summit will release the “Twilight” sequel, “The Twilight Saga: New Moon,” on Nov. 20, the same time of year it released the first “Twilight” in 2008. The first trailer for the $50 million film prominently features action-packed werewolf sequences, which could appeal to male fans. While teen girls seemed to be the target audience of the first “Twilight” film, Summit says 40% of its audience was male, with most of those viewers under 25.

Tabloids have continued to stoke interest in the series, with weekly photos and stories chronicling a possible real-life romance between Ms. Stewart and Mr. Pattinson, as they shoot romantic scenes for upcoming sequels in locales like the small Tuscan city of Volterra, Italy. (A representative for Ms. Stewart declined to comment; a representative for Mr. Pattinson couldn’t be reached.)

Jeff Gomez, president of Starlight Runner Entertainment and a producer who has consulted on some top franchises, such as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” films, says “Twilight’s” focus on romance means it could overtake “Potter” as the wand-wielding “Potterheads” grow up and into more sophisticated films. “I have a lot of confidence in ‘Harry Potter,’” he says, “and it has a narrative momentum that carries its core audience along.” But he says even a series as established as “Harry Potter” can be threatened by a franchise like “Twilight,” which has exploded so quickly and attracted such ravenous fans.

“Twilight” isn’t toppling “Harry Potter” quite yet. The franchise remains a global phenomenon, and advance online ticket sales suggest the film could top previous installments.

Ms. Penner says she has moved on from Harry, however. Recently, she came across her old “Harry Potter” poster while cleaning her room. “I saw it in the closet but by then ‘Twilight’ had come along, and I thought, ‘Who cares?’ ” she says. “Nobody really believes you can have magic, but some people believe you can find the perfect guy.”

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Harry Potter stars Radcliffe, Felton support former co-star Robert Pattinson

According to UK Entertainment Site Digital Spy, Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) and Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) said their happy and support former co-star Robert Pattinson. Twilight actor Robert Pattinson played as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Speaking at a press conference, Radcliffe said: "I won't pretend we're best mates or knew each other really well but we really enjoyed working with each other, or at least I enjoyed working with him! He's doing brilliantly, which is fantastic.

"The thing that is interesting for me, is that Twilight is the only other franchise that comes close to Potter in terms of the mania that surrounds it, the attention that the leads get and just how global it is."

Felton added: "It's just great to see someone who has been in Harry Potter have a life after it, and a much bigger one! So I wish him all the success and I will see Twilight soon, I promise!"

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