Warner Bros. Studios have announced that a 3D and 4K version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone —the first movie in the Harry Potter series — will be used to revive Chinese cinema halls after they open following months of closure to battle the coornavirus pandemic that has spread across the country, after originating in Wuhan.
According to Variety, the news was confirmed when the studio released a new poster in Chinese that showed Harry’s snowy old Hedwig flying with his Hogwarts acceptance letter that has his address in green ink, and a tag that reads, “Magic is coming.”
The new Chinese poster of ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’
Though no official release date has been revealed, it is expected to be around April 30, so that theatres can draw in crowds during the May 1 Labor Day weekend.
The Harry Potter franchise has huge fandom in China, with the original eight movies, that starred the likes of Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson and other popular British actors (based on the seven books in the series) doing fantastic business upon release, and the re-release is expected to provide a boost right before the third Fantastic Beasts movie — a spin-off from the Harry Potter series — finds its way into the theatres eventually.
The news was understandably met with a lot of excitement online by not just fans of J.K Rowling’s series in China, but also all over the world, resonating that a bit of magic is exactly what the world needs during these troubled times.
Variety also reported that China is attempting to revive its entertainment sector after nation-wide closures and that though a few cinemas have tried to reopen, business remains non-existence as several citizens are still practising isolation and social distancing. But from Beijing to the southwestern province of Yunnan, cinemas are now planning to re-open in some regions after the government approves their healthcare precautions.
