James' Top 50 Of The Decade So Far (It all ends here...)

[Fancyarcher]

Harry Potter's storyline is so similar to star wars, it's practically shouting in your face. 

 

also Star Wars Came out in 1977. when visuals were nearly nonexistent, it was a pioneer of practical effects. you can't really compared it with modern visuals, but calling them shitty is incredibly naive.  star wars also has the most well developed world building in any film series ever created. you can dislike it if want. but you have to acknowledge what it was and is. 

 

Star Wars visuals hold up amazingly, especially since a lot of them were practical. 

[Fancyarcher]

I'm not gonna argue which one is a bigger phenomenon, but Potter is definitely higher quality.

 

Star Wars Original Trilogy > Harry Potter films >>>> Star Wars Prequel Trilogy 

Edited February 19, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Ethan Hunt]

Star Wars Original Trilogy > Harry Potter films >>>> Star Wars Prequel Trilogy

Harry Potter films>>>> SW original trilogy > SW prequel trilogy.

[Kalo]

I like Star Wars more, but I will say that Lord of the Rings is better made (actually I only liked two SW movies better than The LOTR Trilogy). as for Potter, it's great. but it's not star wars to me, I really don't understand why there is so much division between them all. 

Edited February 19, 2015 by Visor shades Kalo

[Fancyarcher]

I like Star Wars more, but I will say that Lord of the Rings is better made (actually I only liked two SW movies better than The LOTR Trilogy). as for Potter, it's great. but it's not star wars to me, I really don't understand why there is so much division between them all. 

 

I don't even like to compare to Star Wars and Harry Potter, because, let's be honest, they're not all that like. 

Edited February 19, 2015 by Fancyarcher

[Avatree]

 

Harry Potter's storyline is so similar to star wars, it's practically shouting in your face. 

 

also Star Wars Came out in 1977. when visuals were nearly nonexistent, it was a pioneer of practical effects. you can't really compared it with modern visuals, but calling them shitty is incredibly naive.  star wars also has the most well developed world building in any film series ever created. you can dislike it if want. but you have to acknowledge what it was and is. 

Kalo don't try arguing, noctis is drunk

 

Excuse me but what?! Do you really think Rowling was thinking of SW when she wrote Potter?   Besides the fact that Potter was and is a muuuch bigger phenomenon. It's cultural and social impact is huuuge and WW, not just in one country.

Can you clarify what you actually mean by "was and is a bigger phenomenon"? I seriously dont understand, because that's objectively wrong, both worldwide and in the US.

 

 

Also, I agree that the overall story of Harry Potter is very similar to Star Wars. But lots of films/books follow similar lines to Star Wars, since SW is a traditional good v. evil type story, and being the biggest film of all time it has had a huge amount of influence on all sorts of genres of fiction.

 

At the beginning of both stories, you have a young hero (Luke/Harry) who discovers a magical side of the world about which they knew nothing before (Force/magic). They realise that they have a destiny to fulfil (their parents were great Jedi/wizards) and are helped by an older mentor (Obi-Wan/Dumbledore), and have to defeat a truly evil character (Emperor/Voldemort) in order for good to triumph. In the midst of it all is an ongoing battle between good and evil characters (Jedi/wizards vs. Sith/death-eaters). You can also point to various character similarities (Snape and Vader is the most obvious - physically dark, menacing figures who seem evil (and kill hero's mentor) but at the end we discover are really good guys trying to protect the ones they love).

Edited February 19, 2015 by tree has my panties

[James]

so not true. you do know that adjusted for inflation star wars is the SECOND highest grossing film of all time and has been around for nearly 40 years? and was a multi generational phenomenon and is not only popular in the US. the most popular, for sure but defiantly  not only recently in Europe potter is more popular but that's it. as for her thinking of star wars, maybe not directly, but they both are stories centered on a chosen hero, who must stop an evil dictator. with mystical powers, they both have school where they train, they both focus on a trio of characters, (two men, one women, the main character does not end up with the main, female (well that would be messed up in star wars case). and both main protagonists are deeply connected the the main antagonist. and they are also (in a since) both Orphans, who find out a  dark truth about their parents, they were both in grave danger when they were born and needed to be hidden for protection. they both had kind of shitty foster parents and someone who revealed the mystical world to them. I could go on, but I think you get my point.

How can you say Potter is more popular than SW only in Europe? The books are second in sales only to the Bible with around 500m copies sold and translated in over 70 languages. And of course the SW movie is, ADJUSTED, a very big grosser but nowadays movie going is much more distributed because there are so much more options to choose from. You can count the number of blockbuster movies in 1970 on the fingers of one hand and now there's one opening every 2 weeks.

 

Also, the pattern is a fantasy one. Look at Tolkien and Lewis and others before. 

[Kalo]

 

 

Kalo don't try arguing, noctis is drunk

 

Can you clarify what you actually mean by "was and is a bigger phenomenon"? I seriously dont understand, because that's objectively wrong, both worldwide and in the US.

 

 

Also, I agree that the overall story of Harry Potter is very similar to Star Wars. But lots of films/books follow similar lines to Star Wars, since SW is a traditional good v. evil type story, and being the biggest film of all time it has had a huge amount of influence on all sorts of genres of fiction.

 

At the beginning of both stories, you have a young hero (Luke/Harry) who discovers a magical side of the world about which they knew nothing before (Force/magic). They realise that they have a destiny to fulfil and are helped by an older mentor (Obi-Wan/Dumbledore), and have to defeat a truly evil character (Emperor/Voldemort) in order for good to triumph. In the midst of it all is an ongoing battle between good and evil characters (Jedi/wizards vs. Sith/death-eaters). You can also point to various character similarities (Snape and Vader is the most obvious - physically dark, menacing figures who seem evil (and kill hero's mentor) but at the end we discover are really good guys trying to protect the ones they love).

 

I'm sorry you're right Treeroy, I didn't know Notis was drunk at the time though. I am very defensive of Star Wars. it is a very touchy subject for me.

[James]

 

 

 

 

Can you clarify what you actually mean by "was and is a bigger phenomenon"? I seriously dont understand, because that's objectively wrong, both worldwide and in the US.

 

 

Oh really? WW?      Please enlighten me. Because all proof shows otherwise.

[Goffe]

I am a Zimmer fan, but Dash was right about a lot of what he said.

Yeah, I also agree with him to some extent, but I was referring to this

 

Nolan's Batman soundtrack could be The Rock's, Armageddon's, Broken Arrow and every single action movies from the last 20 years. it's how generic...it is.

 

it's almost like James level of wrong.

[James]

 

 

it's almost like James level of wrong.

Exept I am NEVER wrong

[Kalo]

Exept I am NEVER wrong

of course you are 

[Plain Old Tele]

How can you say Potter is more popular than SW only in Europe? The books are second in sales only to the Bible with around 500m copies sold...

 

Where do you get the 500m copies number? Per Wikipedia, sales for the whole series is around 270-280m (with HP1 accounting for 107m and the other six books in the 50-60m apiece).

 

(edit: there are conflicting sources between different articles, with no real indication which numbers are more accurate.)

 

It's impossible to make a perfect comparison, since of course one series began as novels and the other as movies. However, to counter your argument about HP total sales:

 

- there have been over 350 Star Wars books published (over $1.8b in sales)

- total merchandise sales over $12b

- total franchise worth is around $27b

Edited February 19, 2015 by Telemachos

[bed005]

Oh really? WW? Please enlighten me. Because all proof shows otherwise.

While a lot of us may be overestimating the current popularity of Star Wars in Europe, I think you're blinded by the fact that Star Wars came out almost 40 years ago. The lasting impact that Star Wars has had since it's release is huge. You've stated that you hate the vfx because they look dated, but at the time they were groundbreaking. Eventually Potter may eclipse the importance of Star Wars, but it will take many years.

[Kalo]

While a lot of us may be overestimating the current popularity of Star Wars in Europe, I think you're blinded by the fact that Star Wars came out almost 40 years ago. The lasting impact that Star Wars has had since it's release is huge. You've stated that you hate the vfx because they look dated, but at the time they were groundbreaking. Eventually Potter may eclipse the importance of Star Wars, but it will take many years.

if ever.

[Goffe]

Where do you get the 500m copies number? Per Wikipedia, sales for the whole series is around 270-280m (with HP1 accounting for 107m and the other six books in the 50-60m apiece).

 

(edit: there are conflicting sources between different articles, with no real indication which numbers are more accurate.)

the consensus is that the series sold around 400-500m copies, some sources say 400m, others say "nearly 500m"

[James]

Where do you get the 500m copies number? Per Wikipedia, sales for the whole series is around 270-280m (with HP1 accounting for 107m and the other six books in the 50-60m apiece).

 

(edit: there are conflicting sources between different articles, with no real indication which numbers are more accurate.)

 

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, on 30 June 1997, the books have gained immense popularity, critical acclaim, and commercial success worldwide.^[2] The series has also had some share of criticism, including concern about the increasingly dark tone as the series progressed. As of July 2013, the books had sold between 400 and 450 million copies, making them one of the best-selling book series in history, and had been translated into 73 languages.^[3][4] The last four books consecutively set records as the fastest-selling books in history, with the final instalment selling approximately 11 million copies in the United States within the first twenty-four hours of its release.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

That's more than a year and a half behind and I constantly followed the books sales by New York Times Bestseller in US and by news sources here and it never left Top 50.

 

Also Tele, 107 + 50x6 = at least 400M.   

Edited February 19, 2015 by 69 Shades of James

[4815162342]

This thread's getting good. Not up to Marvel vs. Nolan yet though.

[Goffe]

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/18/harrypotter.news

Harry Potter breaks 400m in sales

that was in 2008

Edited February 19, 2015 by Goffe

[Plain Old Tele]

the consensus is that the series sold around 400-500m copies, some sources say 400m, others say "nearly 500m"

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter

That's more than a year and a half behind and I constantly followed the books sales by New York Times Bestseller in US and by news sources here and it never left Top 50.

 

And yet, if you look at Wikipedia's own page for all-time bestselling books, while they list the HP saga around 450m, the numbers listed higher on the page (for individual books) don't add up to that figure.