Harry Potter Is HOW OLD!?

You’re only as old as you feel, but these anniversaries will make you feel pretty darn old. Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be opening up our time capsule to tell you what happened this week in history, November 11-17. For this list, we’re scouring our memory banks and the history books to find five interesting stories that’ll make you say, “gee, where did the time go?” Be sure to keep an eye on our Community Tab to vote for your favorite memories on upcoming episodes! For this episode, over 115 thousand of you guys voted, so thanks! Keep ‘em coming! 17 Years Ago Harry Potter Casts a Spell on Cinemagoers & the Magic Begins November 16th, 2001 If you fell in love with J. K. Rowling’s best-selling book series in the late 90s (and based on the votes you did!), then you undoubtedly remember the astronomical hype building up to the first “Harry Potter” screen adaptation. In addition to becoming the second highest-grossing movie of its time, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” also launched an immensely successful film franchise that’s still going strong seventeen years later with the release of “Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald.” Just as actors Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson grew up with the series, so did a generation of young audiences. For many, the original film is the definition of childhood, forever holding a special place in their hearts. 6 Years Ago “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” Sells Like Hotcakes November 13th, 2012 Two years after “Call of Duty” first introduced “Black Ops”, the series follow-up broke records left and right. Building on the success of the 2010 original, the hit sequel raked in $500 million within its first 24 hours on the market, the biggest entertainment launch at the time. This record has since been broken by “Grand Theft Auto V,” but “Black Ops II” remains one of the few games that grossed over $1 billion within just a couple weeks. As 2012’s best-selling game in the US, “Black Ops II” dominated the gaming community, whether you played it on PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Wii U. Gee, the last console gen feels so long ago… 22 Years Ago Michael Jordan Joins the Tune Squad November 15th, 1996 The 90s was an interesting time - one when Shaquille O'Neal could be a rapping genie, Dennis Rodman could be an action hero, and Michael Jordan could shoot b-ball will Bugs Bunny. Derived from a series of Nike commercials, “Space Jam” is one of the strangest mashups ever to meet the silver screen, complete with aliens, NBA All-Stars, the Looney Tunes, and Bill Murray. As bizarre as its premise might’ve been, “Space Jam” not only became the highest-grossing basketball movie to date, but also inspired an album that went 6x Platinum and a billion-dollar media franchise. The film’s popularity has proved so enduring that a sequel starring LeBron James is set to commence shooting in 2019. 19 Years Ago Dr. Dre Comes Out with His “Next Episode” November 16th, 1999 After a seven year wait, people weren’t sure if Dr. Dre could deliver the goods, having set the bar so high with his first album “The Chronic”. Through the single “Still D.R.E.,” however, the rapper made it clear that he’d taken his time “to perfect the beat” for his follow-up. Released towards the end of the 20th century, the album was originally going to be called “Chronic 2000.” (Remember when everything had “2000” at the end of it?) The title eventually evolved into “Chronic 2001,” then just “2001.” Reaching #1 on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, “2001” remains a gangsta rap landmark, guaranteeing we’ll never forget about Dre. 40 Years Ago “Star Wars Holiday Special” Airs for the First (& Last) Time November 17th, 1978 Nowadays, there’s no shortage of “Star Wars” content to go around. Back in the late 70s, however, all we had was the original blockbuster and this infamous television special. Premiering on CBS one year after the first film came out, the “Star Wars Holiday Special” was a surreal spinoff with a singing Carrie Fisher, a singing Bea Arthur, and… whatever the hell this is. While it did introduce the world to Boba Fett, the special was despised by virtually everybody, including George Lucas. 40 years down the line, the special has yet to be rebroadcasted or officially released on any home video format, but still enjoys a cult status through bootleg copies and the internet.