The boy wizard is working his magic this weekend as thousands of children flock to cinemas all over the country to see Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
As if the magical hype had not already reached frenzied levels, the two days of preview screenings are seeing cinemas booked out, with long queues expected everywhere.
The phones were hopping at cinemas all day yesterday but there was no sorcery involved - this time just thousands ringing to book tickets. Spokespeople from cinemas across the country predicted sheer madness rather than magic.
The movie is playing today and tomorrow and will give a taste of what sort of wizardry can be expected when it goes on general release next Friday, November 16th, in Europe and the US.
Based on the book by J.K. Rowling, it tells the story of an orphaned boy who becomes a wizard - and is predicted to become the most popular children's picture of all time.
This weekend the cinemas are charging regular prices but most people preferred to book rather than risk disappointment. Opening times vary according to the cinema but most will begin around lunchtime and continue until late evening.
At UCI Cinemas in Tallaght, six screens of the 12 will be showing the movie from 10 a.m. The later afternoon performances were nearly booked out early yesterday.
The Savoy cinema group in O'Connell Street, Dublin, is showing the film on their two biggest screens. A spokeswoman said yesterday afternoon they were almost booked out.
"There are going to be queues whether people have booked or not. It is going to be mad," she said.
In Galway, the two biggest cinemas within the 11-screen Omniplex are showing the movie. Each cinema can hold 800 to 900 people.
A spokesman said it would definitely be sold out. People had been booking since early this week and one or two of the shows had been booked out already. People would be able to queue up and buy tickets - if there were any left.
"Really it's just going to be madness," he said.
Phones at the large cinema complexes in Cork and Limerick were permanently engaged yesterday as the switchboards were jammed with callers.
The Omniplex in Tralee is showing the movie in one of its four cinemas, starting from 2 p.m. today. A spokesman said the earlier shows were nearly booked out and calls had been coming in non-stop.
Mr Pat Boylan, a spokesman for Warner Bros in Dublin, which is distributing the picture, said they had never seen anything like it. Michael Collins was successful five years ago, but this was much bigger.
One thing is for sure, definitely no "Muggles" will be allowed. For those not familiar with the term, "Muggles" are adults who have lost any sense of magic.