The hotly anticipated final instalment of the Harry Potter franchise hit Norwich screens last Friday, attracting mass crowds over the weekend.

Hollywood Cinema in Anglia Square reported the busiest weekend of the cinema's existence and Odeon at Riverside estimate that close to 1000 attended their midnight showing on Friday.

Managing Director of Hollywood Cinemas, Trevor Wickes, said: 'People really enjoyed the film. I think it was worth the wait.'

He added: 'I think it will be the same this coming weekend. And we expect it to run all through the summer holidays.'

Dan Blackburn, Duty Manager at Odeon Cinema at Riverside said: 'I was on duty for the midnight showing and the atmosphere was amazing.

'Over the weekend it's just been non-stop, and the people that come out say it's easily the best of the franchise.'

The films' fans are noted going the extra mile with their costumes, and Friday was no different. Mr Blackburn said: 'There was this guy, about 19, who came dressed as Voldemort. He'd even shaved his head and painted himself white.

'A young girl even came dressed as Hedwig the owl; she wore a white hoody with wings sewn to it, and orange tights. The way I'm describing it just doesn't do it justice.

'You can understand the excitement: it's a lot of people's childhood coming to an end.'

Charlie Newman, 18, saw the film at the Vue Cinema in the Castle Mall on the Tuesday following the busy weekend. She said of the film directly after: 'I thought it was really good, I was expecting a few more fight scenes but it still was good.

'It is quite cheesy, but it's a nice ending to it. It's a nice little closure.'

'I heard quite a few people crying and I did well up a little bit.'

General manager of Cinema City Jack Thompson noted the remarkable response to the movie. He said: 'There were a large number crying at the end of the film. I think people are really sad to see the end of it. Maybe we should try and convince Mrs Rowling to write another book!'

The cinema held a one-off film quiz based around the movie before the showing. Mr Thompson said: 'Blockbusters don't always do well here, but this one has universal appeal due to the book-to-film crossover and we've seen sold-out shows.'