Recently, a New York Times op-ed made a bold claim: Gen Z doesn’t love Harry Potter. The piece argued that while Millennials experienced the books and films as massive cultural events—midnight book releases, packed movie premieres, and years of culturally built hype—Gen Z simply hasn’t had the same relationship with the series. It also pointed to the political backlash surrounding the franchise in recent years, suggesting that the online debates and calls for boycotts against the series have made the franchise feel more politically charged for some younger audiences, especially for a gen that is highly engaged with social issues online. It was this article that had YPulse experts wondering: has Harry Potter really lost its grip on young audiences, or was that just a good headline? And other franchises that have sequels, reboots, and tentpole releases lined up this year—do they have Gen Z fans they can count on to show up? So, we asked. In exclusive YPulse data (available in our Pro data dashboards), we asked...
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