Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film) 2004 in Europe. Mattel released film tie-ins that included the "Harry Potter Championship Quidditch" board game and character action figures. Lego also expanded on its previous merchandising for the first two films with the release of sets ranging from the Knight Bus to the Shrieking Shack. "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" held its New York premiere at Radio City Music Hall on 23 May 2004, followed by its London premiere at Leicester Square on 30 May 2004. The film then opened in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2004 and on 4 June 2004 in the United States.
Religious debates over the Harry Potter series hold special liturgies every Thursday to cure those afflicted by spells or possessed by evil spirits. Pamphlets were posted throughout the city, claiming that reciting a "Harry Potter" spell "is as if you are praying to evil", and that "God hates magic." However, the Russian Orthodox apologist deacon Andrei Kuraev argued in his 2003 book "Harry Potter in the Church: Between an Anathema and a Smile" that the Harry Potter books are not dangerous. His arguments include the books' similarity with traditional fairy tales and literary classics such as the "Iliad" which no-one calls "Satanic"; the difference between the books'