Fans Flock To Soggy Potter Premiere

London Opening of "Half-Blood Prince" Draws Thousands to Wet Red Carpet for Glimpse of Film's Young Stars

(CBS/AP)  Thousands of Harry Potter fans braved rain and hail Tuesday to cheer the cast of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" at its London premiere.

Stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint and other cast members, along with the boy wizard's creator, J.K. Rowling, walked up a soggy red carpet before the screening in Leicester Square.

The sixth Potter film, "Half-Blood Prince" sees Harry and his friends at Hogwarts school battling evil Lord Voldemort -- and their raging teenage hormones.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reported on "The Early Show" Tuesday the movie was slated for release last November, but marketers decided on a summer release for better returns.

"Half-Blood Prince" cost $250 million to make, Roth reported, and another $150 million to market worldwide.

But is it worth the risk?

This is the first time, Roth observed, the Potter franchise has faced a global recession.

Radcliffe, who plays Harry Potter, told Roth he's confident the movies will do well, despite the recession's impact.

He said, "...(The movies are) something that's had a strong fan (draw) from way before the recession was even a dot in the stock market's eye."

Roth said the five previous Harry Potter films have reportedly raked in $7.2 billion in ticket and DVD sales.

And thousands still came out to cheer the film's stars despite the weather, some holding placards reading "Harry, I'll be Your Chosen One" and "Britain Loves J.K. Rowling."

"I can't believe the dedication of the fans," said Tom Felton, who plays Harry's rival, Draco Malfoy, in the film.

Paul Taylor, 45, a nursing-home worker from Sheffield in northern England, came dressed in a tailor-made wizard's cloak and hat.

"It's quite exciting. You get caught up in all the energy," he said.

"I get quite involved with Harry Potter," he acknowledged. "I travel on steam trains and go to conferences."

Grint, who plays Ron Weasley, attended after recovering from a mild bout of swine flu. He said the illness was not severe and "just like any other flu I've had before."

The cast members wore white ribbons in memory of Rob Knox, a young actor on the film who was stabbed to death in London last year.

"He would have loved to be here," said Jessie Cave, who plays Ron's sometime love interest, Lavender Brown.

The movie opens around the world July 15.
Two more films are in the works covering Rowling's final book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."

[hannahcv1]

No matter where you were in the world, the night of the Harry Potter Premiere was pretty crazy. Check out photos from the movie's first showing at a theater in a small town in Wisconsin.

http://volumeone.org/photos/albums/18/206.html

[hannahcv1]

No matter where you were in the world, the night of the Harry Potter Premiere was pretty crazy. Check out photos from the movie's first showing at a theater in a small town in Wisconsin.

http://volumeone.org/photos/albums/18/206.html

[proudmilvet]

LOL. Hope old Harry didn't get his wand wet!

[hannahcv1]

No matter where you were in the world, the night of the Harry Potter Premiere was pretty crazy. Check out photos from the movie's first showing at a theater in a small town in Wisconsin.
check them out in the Volume One Photos section at Volumeone.org