Harry Potter’s Biggest Fan Lines Up at the IMAX Entertainment Complex
Branson, Missouri – July 14, 2011 – Koltyn Tranbarger is 18, just graduated Reeds Spring High School and officially holds the title of ‘First in Line’ for any movie showing in Branson…ever.
“I wanted to say I was first in line,” said Tranbarger.
Koltyn arrived at 9 am at the IMAX Entertainment Complex for it’s midnight showing of Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. With his backpack, his ipod and a copy of the third book in the series, Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban, Koltyn will have been waiting 15 hours by the time the movie commences.
Shortly Koltyn won’t be alone. The film hasn’t even been released yet and it’s already breaking records. According to Variety, as of noon on Wednesday, the film had already grossed $32 million in pre-sales. The midnight showings in Branson at all three venues: the IMAX screen, the Elite Cinema III and Branson Meadows have been sold out for days.
How does Branson’s biggest Harry Potter fan feel about the most highly anticipated movie of the year, the end of an era…happy or sad?
“Both,” said Tranbarger. “I really want to see it, it’s going to be awesome! But I’m going to cry a lot, my friends have already said I’m going to cry. But it’s a happy cry. Mostly.”
And for Koltyn, and Harry Potter fans across the globe, it will never actually end. Koltyn will be attending the University of Missouri in the fall, where they have an actual Earth-bound version of a Quidditch team, with brooms, a human “snitch”, and a World Cup every year in New York.
“It’ll never die,” said Tranbarger, who’s written some Potter fan fiction and and plans to interact at pottermore.com (J.K. Rowlings official site for Potter fans, open officially in October). “I feel bad for my kids,” he laughs, “it’s going to be never-ending, they’ll be fans too.”
Starting Friday, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 will show nightly on the IMAX screen at 9 pm, in the Elite Cinema III in 3D five times daily, and at Branson Meadows Cinema in 2D four times daily. For more information www.bransonimax.com or www.bransonmeadowscinema11.com.
