The first Harry Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” hit U.S. theaters on Nov. 16, 2001. USA TODAY is republishing articles from its archives to mark the movie’s 20th anniversary.
HERTFORDSHIRE, England – Even before “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” hit movie theaters, theirs were three of the most photographed young faces on the planet. They look out from billboards, the sides of buses and magazine covers everywhere.