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.
The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter released in bookstores. When his nephew and nieces received the book, they read it for the remainder of their vacation with him. Colbert, a historian and former head writer on the television quiz show "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", became interested in the books and bought the first novel in the series, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", to see what the story was about. As he was reading, he began to notice mythological references in the book. He commented: "I almost laughed out loud when I came across the three-headed dog <nowiki>[</nowiki>Fluffy<nowiki>]</nowiki>. I instantly knew it was a