Harry Potter (film series) for the third film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", claiming he was "burned out". He moved to the position of producer, while Alfonso Cuarón was approached for the role of director. He was initially nervous about directing the instalment since he had not read any of the books or seen the films. After reading the series, he changed his mind and signed on to direct since he had immediately connected to the story. Because Cuarón decided not to direct the fourth instalment, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire", a new director had to be selected. Mike Newell
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film) previews, making £16.3 million with and £9.8 million without previews. The film went on to make £66.1 million in the UK alone, making it the country's second highest-grossing film of all-time (after "Titanic"), until it was surpassed by "Mamma Mia!". In total, the film earned $974.8 million at the worldwide box office, $317.6 million of that in the US and $657.2 million elsewhere, which made it the second highest-grossing film in history at the time, as well as the year's highest-grossing film. , it is the unadjusted thirty-fourth highest-grossing film of all-time and the second highest-grossing "Harry Potter" film to