“Harry Potter” fever was at an all-time high more than two decades ago. The fervour surrounding J.K. Rowling’s fantasy novel about a bespectacled boy who discovers he is a famous wizard translated into sky-high expectations for “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the first film adaptation of the beloved series.
The film, which debuted on Nov. 16, 2001, became an instant box office hit, launching one of the most profitable franchises in cinema history and launching the careers of then-unknown actors Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint.