Long-suffering Indonesian movie fans flocked to cinemas Friday to see Harry Potter’s last stand, following the lifting of a boycott of the country by US studios over a tax dispute.
Three weeks after "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" debuted in London on July 7, the concluding chapter of the wildly popular series came to Southeast Asia’s biggest country.
For some the wait was almost too much to bear.
"Oh my God, all these months of waiting is like going through childbirth, it’s just so painful," said Febry Lumbantoruan, a 30-year-old human resources officer, referring to the Hollywood boycott going back to February.
"The baby is finally born and I’m just elated," he added after managing to secure two tickets for a Friday show of the Potter movie.
Ignatius Hellanda, an 18-year-old student, rushed to buy his tickets on Wednesday as soon as they went on sale. "It was an unbelievable feeling holding them in my hands," he said.
After Harry Potter, Indonesians can expect to catch up on "Transformers" and "Kung Fu Panda 2," other high-profile victims of the boycott.
The Potter movies have a devoted following in Indonesia, where thousands of fans play the wizard sport of Quidditch on Twitter, enroll themselves in wizard schools and cast charms and spells on one another on Facebook.
Angry Potter fans spewed curses on the government earlier this month when it was announced the film would not be screened in Indonesia due to the row between Jakarta and Hollywood over royalty payments.
The more desperate reached for their Firebolts and headed to neighboring Singapore and Malaysia to watch it.
In place since February, the boycott by the Motion Picture Association of America has denied Indonesian movie-goers blockbusters including "Black Swan," "True Grit" and the "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides."
Cinema takings plunged up to 70 percent as theatres filled the gap with local fare and offerings from the bottom of the rejects bin from years past.
Indonesian Cinema Companies Union head Djonny Sjafruddin said the studios agreed to end the boycott after reaching a deal with the government on a new tax policy last month.
"The problem has been resolved and the boycott is over. Now everyone can start watching Hollywood films again," he told AFP. "It’s a relief to us. We don’t need to close shop after all."
The rush for coveted Harry Potter tickets caused movie chain 21Cineplex’s website to crash on Wednesday.
On its Indonesian premiere day, long lines were spotted in a central Jakarta cinema where screenings of the movie started every hour.
A 22-year old moviegoer, Dara Gendys, said after purchasing her tickets that she came to cinema with her 12-year old brother with a sense of contentment.
"It’s like a breath of fresh air to finally see a Hollywood blockbuster playing here again. During the ban I was confined to watch Thai movies in cinemas," she said.
