Some people say midnight is the witching hour and at 12.01am today, witches and wizards of all ages, shapes and sizes, donned their robes and waved their wands at the Western Bay of Plenty's first screening of Harry Potter.
About 350 Harry Potter fans crowded into three Bay City Cinemas inTauranga to be some of the first people to see the eighth and final movie in the popular series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.
Many dressed to impress in wizard and witch costumes.
Cinema manager Justin Chaney said the mood leading up to the preview was "pure excitement" and there were plenty of avid fans desperate to see the final film.
"We are absolutely sold out, 100 per cent. There are some pretty hard-core fans out there and there's quite a few people who are fanatical about it."
Presale tickets to the highly anticipated film sold out "extremely quickly" when they first went on sale about three weeks ago. Mr Chaney said the demand was so strong, he opened three cinemas for the midnight screening. All three sessions screened the 3D version.
Mr Chaney said midnight screening sessions were common for blockbuster films, such as films in the Transformers and Twilight series.
He expected the final Twilight film to be "another big film" but said the final Harry Potter film was "certainly one of the biggest films of the year".
Bay Costume Hire owner Kathy McCaw said movie premieres were a popular time for people to dress up, and last night was no exception. She said a large number of young people had hired Harry Potter-inspired costumes. "We've got Harry Potter capes with the school crest on it, a few of those have gone out, and we've also got glasses, wigs and wands and other accessories too," she said.
