Harry Potter is one of the most popular movies out there.
Since its release, the iconic series has sold over 120million copies worldwide, becoming the fourth best-selling book of all time. It even turned into a film with eight sequels to then became the highest-grossing film of 2001.
Fans of the Wizarding World franchise might know the book, released in 1997, had a different name in the US. In the UK, it’s known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, while the US recognises it as the Sorcerer’s Stone.
But what viewers might not know is the film versions were also different in the UK and across the pond. Taking to the official Harry Potter TikTok account, a side-by-side comparison was shared to show the different versions.
The scene shows Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger in the library, where the trio are discussing where they’ve heard the term ‘philosopher’s stone’ before.
In the UK version, Hermione, could be heard saying: “I checked this out weeks ago for a bit of light reading. […] Of course, here it is. Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher’s Stone.”
Meanwhile, in the US version, Hermione says: “Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Sorcerer’s Stone.” Harry and Ron are gobsmacked, and Hermione continues, in the UK version: “Honestly, don’t you two read? The Philosopher’s Stone is a legendary substance with astonishing powers.”
In the US version, Hermione says the same sentence, but says Sorcerer’s Stone again. Over the video clip, is the caption: “Raise your hand if you had no idea there were two different versions of this movie.”
And it turns out many had no idea there were two different versions. “That’s such a random change to make. How is that for the Americans?!” said one person. “So they took this scene twice?” asked one person, while another said: “They made Emma repeat the lines,” with a crying emoji.
Many asked why the change was needed, to which one person claimed: “The book was ‘Philosophers stone’ in all English speaking countries except the US, I believe. I believe the original reasoning was that people here wouldn’t understand what a philosophers stone was.”
The original title is in reference to an actual legend from the Middle Ages, of a stone that grants immortality. It’s believed that the title was changed by the US publisher Scholastic because they didn’t think kids would want to read a book with the word philosopher in the title.
It’s believed editor Arthur Levine thought the word was too archaic, and the title needed to be more obviously connected to magic and fantasy. It’s believed author JK Rowling still regrets the name change, and would have rejected it if she’d been in a stronger position at the time.