Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, also known as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in India and the United States, is a fantasy film of 2001 directed by Chris Columbus with Warner Bros. Pictures carrying out the distribution work. The film is inspired by the 1997 J.K. Rowling’s novel of similar identity. It was produced by David Heyman, and the screenplay was written by Steve Kloves. It is the first film produced by the Harry Potter film series. It features Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley.
The story features Harry Potter’s early years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardly when he uncovers his famous wizard and starts schooling.
Warner Bros. invested 1 million Euros to acquire the film’s rights to the book in 1999. The film was conceived in 2000 in the United States, where Chris Columbus was recruited to develop the film by Rob Reiner and Steven Spielberg. The filming of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was filmed at Leavesden Film Studios and ancient structures in the United Kingdom, starting September 2000 through 2001.
The film was opened to cinemas on November 1, 2001, in the United States and the United Kingdom. It earned box office $974 million on its release and $1 billion with its subsequent openings. The film bagged several nominations such as Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, and Best Original Score. It was followed by seven sequels, the first being Harry Potter and Chamber of secrets.