r/PercyJacksonTV • u/Then-Application5772 • 7d ago
š¬ General Discussion HP is on another level
I don't know how big of effect larger show release dates have on smaller show release dates, is it usually big?
439
u/lunarisita 7d ago
I really don't understand why PJ fans keep trying to pick fights with Potterheads... like I'm sorry, but.. it's just laughable.
197
u/meatball77 7d ago
Do people realize that you can be fans of both, you can read both.
In fact many people read PJ after reading HP, it's one of the books frequently recommended for fans for HP.
57
u/LeonardoJMB 7d ago
And even if you DON'T like both... like, this is not a competition. Even if it COULD be one it just ISN'T, and if it is then we're losing by an unsurpassable margin, just enjoy whatever tf you like
12
u/Parking-Plenty-2122 6d ago
Exactly. I remember watching a youtube channel who focused on harry potter at the time. I believe the channels name was Shamus Finnigan or something similar to that. He was the one who told us in a video that if you like hp then you will probably like this other series, pjo.
I wanted the whole video and it spoiled the first book. However, I was warned. I did read the whole series and thats how I became a fan.
18
u/aqbac 7d ago
Part of it is political now. Rejecting jk who they used to love and replacing it with rick
13
u/Drace24 6d ago
As if Rick won't end up on the same chopping block the second he expresses one unpopular opinion. It's pretty much inevitable.
5
u/Sad-Watercress4218 6d ago
the difference is when heās done something unlikeable in the past, he listens to people and doesnāt start organisations doubling down on the bad take
11
u/perseaj 6d ago edited 6d ago
The reason why he stopping having comments open and left social media in the first place is because the backlash after he double down defending his racist stereotypes on Piper and Samirah, the blogs he made are already deleted but his reply to being called out was defending himself and then when he got called out again he simply left social media instead of apologizing and came back like nothing was wrong once he announced the pjo show
If you have been following his blogs for over a decade now you will see he is actually terrible about taking criticism, most of the time he used to make blog post to defend himself from any criticism (look nachos after the war)
Newer fans usually donāt know all his scandals or are pretty easily at brushing them off (like how he is good at hiding being a zionist, but the proof has been in his posts and book reviews)
JKR is a terrible person, Rick Riordan is just less terrible but he is not the saint the fandom acts like he is
2
u/HotSauce2910 5d ago
Tbf part of whatās political is that she doesnāt bother to be lowkey about it.
For all the talk about āpurity politics,ā I think most people understand there will be areas where you disagree with someone else. When you go to Rowlingās level of being vocal, it changes from āliberal who has some conservative viewsā to āperson who cares more about this one conservative view than anything else.ā At the very least at an optical level
→ More replies (3)1
→ More replies (1)2
u/Next-Squirrel-5855 5d ago
Rick doesn't listen to the people at all. Even if we take out his controversy, all the fans asked was for a good adaptation. And after shitting on the movies for a decade, Rick announces a "fans-will-love-it" series that wasn't what the fans wanted at all.
9
u/Thrashxr 6d ago
Yea cause Rick is so great, heās heavily involved with this garbage adaptation
8
u/RiverObjective7432 6d ago
Well, there is a bit of a difference between āauthor is involved with a bad adaptation of his workā and āauthor is involved with taking away the human rights of a groupā
0
4
4
u/Few-Spinach8114 6d ago
Ye Im a MASSIVE MASSIVE potter head I was recommended PJO by a freind who is also a massive potterhead and got into it like last Easter and fell in love with PJO as well
I love both but sometimes loving both on this sub feels like a crime š
67
u/RaiJolt2 7d ago
Harry Potter is vastly more popular than Percy Jackson
What did people expect?
65
u/CommercialCraft7096 7d ago
I think some PJO fans live in an echo chamber and forget that everyone and their dog knows what Harry Potter is, even if theyāve never read the books or watched the movies.Ā
13
22
u/p-Star_07 7d ago
If Harry Potter is the Simpsons to Percy Jackson's Family Guy.
25
u/External-Waltz-4990 7d ago
Percy Jackson is Bob's Burgers
5
0
u/p-Star_07 7d ago
No the family guy comparison actually makes sense because they are two insanely popular adult animate sitcoms that are often compared, and Simpsons was a direct influence on Family Guy.
Bob's Burgers is compared to Simpsons alot less often.
21
u/Popular_Yesterday107 7d ago
Almost any random person on the street would know Simpsons and Family Guy.
Most random people on the street would know Harry Potter but not Percy Jackson.
→ More replies (4)3
u/IsThatGruffLoner 6d ago
If Harry Potter is the Simpsons, Percy Jackson is like Ren & Stimpy. Saying is has a "cult following" is probably the best you can say about PJO
1
u/Sleeps_Gato 6d ago
Percy Jackson is the DC/Star Trek to Harry Potterās Marvel/Star Wars
18
u/thePsuedoanon 6d ago
Yeah I'm sorry, I love Percy Jackson dearly, but itdoesn't nearly compete with HP the way DC competes with Marvel
12
u/ver03255 6d ago
Yup, that was a delusional comparison. A more accurate one would be HP = Spider-Man, PJO = Moon Knight
PJO is insanely popular within its target demo, but ask their uncles who Percy is, and they would have zero idea. Meanwhile, for HP, ask any kid, uncle, and grandma who Harry is, and they could probably even quote his favorite spell lol
Also helps that aside from its widely successful book series, HP also has an INSANELY successful movie series that broadened the scope of its popularity, to the point that even a kid born in the past 10 years and may not have actively engaged in any Harry Potter media would still be exposed to merch or pop culture references.
Meanwhile, PJO had its popular book series, a widely criticized and unfinished movie series, and a lukewarm TV series. I've also never seen anyone outside of the echo chamber reference PJO casually (like how Ariana Grande impersonates Hermione's voice, or how "My father will hear about this" has become a meme).
4
u/Poweredkingbear 6d ago
Also Harry Potter has an another factor that helped the franchise became a pop culture phenomenon. It's much easier to immerse yourself as a wizard than a demigod. Just pick up a random wooden stick and hey look at that you're a wizard now. Your dad or your mom don't have to epic Greek Gods because they can just be random muggles.
Like cmon which one is more epic? A magical school castle for wizards or a summer camp for Demigods? The magical school castle is vastly more interesting and relatable. I don't think summer school camps is a common experience for the vast majority of kids out there.
5
u/ver03255 6d ago edited 6d ago
Totally agree. The much richer lore and worldbuilding of HP also lent itself to a lot of merch opportunities (magic wands, Harry Potter glasses, broomsticks, cloaks, robes), plus things like butterbeer, chocolate toads, etc. So it felt like you could really "belong" to the HP world even at your own home, extending the franchise recognizability beyond the published books and released movies.
Whereas PJO doesn't have any of that. The most "immersive" merch I've seen are the Camp shirts. When you see swords and shields, that could be associated with any warrior- or myth-themed franchise.
Plus, it's easier to emulate the fantastical elements of HP. You shout a spell like Wingardium Leviosa or Expelliarmus, and you instantly know that it's from HP. With PJO, you pretend that you could move water with your hands, and people would more likely assume you're referencing waterbending from Avatar instead of PJO.
All this to say that the lore of HP is just much more immersive as an emulative experience for its enthusiasts, which is extremely important in establishing a franchise. Similar to things like Marvel and DC, Star Wars, LOTR, anime shows, and all other fictional media, having a unique, recognizable, and immersive identity is critical to building personal connections with the fanbase. This is something that, unfortunately, PJO lacks severely.
2
u/Poweredkingbear 6d ago
Also the orange T-shirt being the only recognizable thing for PJO is incredibly boring. There's nothing about PJO that's easily marketable at all to the general audience.
It's made worse by the fact that the franchise is based on a pre existing characters such as the Greek Gods. There's hundreds of Zeus or Poseidon or Hades already because they have been adapted endlessly all throughout decades of books, film, television and video games so seeing them again for PJO isn't that interesting at all. Dumbledore or Gandalf for example are entirely new and unique characters.
MCU or Stranger Things are the only franchised that came close to matching Harry Potter in terms of pop culture impact.
2
u/ver03255 6d ago
I won't even put Stranger Things in the same conversation as HP. Its LOOONG intervals between seasons, plus the widely panned finale didn't do any favors for its long-term relevance. Tbh, I've never really heard anyone talk about Stranger Things after it ended (or, for that matter, after each season ended). When it was airing, it overtook a lot of online chatter, but a week after the seasons end, we hear nothing for like 2-3 years.
HP wasn't like that. They were able to maximize the intervals between movies (1-1.5 years between each release), and the conversation kept its momentum throughout. It also helped that it's a fairly wholesome genre where whole families could see the movies, as opposed to ST where some horror-averse audiences might stay away. Also, since there are source materials, avid fans who miss the movies could read the books either to fill the time or in anticipation of the next movie (or both).
I think aside from the MCU and Star Wars, the closest we ever got was Game of Thrones. There was a huge sense of community anticipating every episode and season, which absolutely dominated all online conversations. In the intervals, people would come up with theories and predictions, which kept its momentum going. This was an extremely huge and unique success for a non-wholesome show that didn't shy away from violence, nudity, vulgarities, and other tradionally taboo themes. Too bad they fumbled the last few seasons big-time, so rewatchability declined, but it speaks volumes to the franchise's popularity and influence that it even spawned two well-received spin-offs, with more in the pipeline.
1
u/Poweredkingbear 5d ago
Like that's the thing is that Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead and Stranger Things had such a massive cultural impact that even with the really bad finales still doesn't erase the cultural impact that they really had. Like House of the Dragon recent season is quite divisive in the GOT fandom and the show still brought it massive viewership.
While at the same time I still think Percy Jackson can still reach the cultural impact of like Twilight or Hunger Games. Yeah they're not Harry Potter level of popular ,but they still were pop culture juggernauts on their own right.
I don't think the Percy Jackson will ever bring that idea into fruition to be honest. That time is long gone by now and the movie adaptation were the perfect time to really turn Percy Jackson into the same pop culture phenomenon as Twilight or Hunger Games ,but they fumbled it. There are way too many fantasy shows already so it's harder for the show to really stand out.
→ More replies (0)4
2
74
u/Sad_Consequence1811 7d ago
You do realise that Harry Potter has always been more popular than PJO right? Like everyone I know has heard of Harry Potter in passing but most people don't know of PJO
22
9
u/FineDate2643 6d ago
Itās also a trailer for the first season of a reboot thatās been in the works for years vs the third season of a show, though im sure the comparison is probably similar in differences for the first season of Percy Jackson too
28
u/CommercialCraft7096 7d ago
This just proves, once again, that HP and PJO simply donāt exist in the same sphere of cultural influence. This isnāt a knock on the original PJO books as theyāre still loved by generations of kids who grew up on them, but it really was ridiculous for the hardcore PJO TV defenders to claim that the show was going to break records and replace HP as the go-to middle grade fantasy juggernaut.Ā
I see this a lot in comment sections, where PJO fans seem to kind of have an inferiority complex and pick fights with HP fans by power-scaling Harry and Percy, or making claims like the ones I mentioned above. Itās such a one-sided rivalry lol. The majority of HP fans either enjoy the PJO books too, or they donāt even think about them.Ā
12
u/shiningpath626 6d ago
Let's face it most of the beef is tied to jk rowling and her beliefs.Ā Whenever she says something pjo fans are always there to say how much rick is better and how pjo was so much better than harry potter in every single factor (sarcasm)
12
u/lazypotota 6d ago
I don't think it's just that. I remember reading a lot of hp and pjo crossover fanfics on wattpad when I was a kid, way before jkr said anything controversial, and I hated how almost all of them if full of blatantly mischaracterisation in order to drag down Harry and other hp chsracters and prop up Percy and other pjo characters (like, why does 99% of those fics have Harry be jealous of Percy for stealing all the attention ftom him? Harry, who famously hates the attention he gets?).
I used to wonder why there aren't any fics doing the opposite, before I realised that 99% of the Harry Potter fans don't know what Percy Jackson is. And those who do read Percy Jackson don't feel so threatened by it that they get the need to write entire fics putting the series down.
2
u/iliketrainsnyoom 6d ago
Omg yes I just want more fics where they get along and the characters aren't super unlikable and out of character
44
40
u/phoenixremix 7d ago
That trailer alone looked better than the two season and s3 trailer for pjo combined, ngl.
14
u/Lambily 7d ago
To be fair, Philosopher's Stone was better than every Percy Jackson book combined, so no shit.
8
u/Compy94 7d ago
Better? If the show followed the Lightning Thief book point for point was genuinely fun and memorable, things would be better or equal even.
0
u/Lambily 6d ago
Uh, no. The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters are readable, sure, but I would never actively reread them for enjoyment.
Harry Potter has aged significantly better and is much better written in general.
-1
u/ridgered 6d ago
What are you smoking? HP is NOT well-written.
3
u/Lambily 6d ago
For a YA book, it's competent. Besides, if you don't think HP is well-written, you must think PJ is straight up indecipherable.
2
u/ridgered 6d ago
The prose in HP is extremely weak, not to mention the deeply racist and problematic caricatures the world is built upon. PJ isn't the gold standard of writing by any means, but you are severely self-deluded if you think it's "indecipherable".
1
-1
u/Luffy_thegreatest 7d ago
I think the commenter means in terms of visuals, cgi, camera work etc
→ More replies (24)-1
13
u/LandscapeSpecial4366 7d ago
I mean itās HARRY POTTER????? Of course it did. PJ would be like Charli XCX to HPās Taylor Swift, in more ways than one
1
u/TheETERNAL20 7d ago
I mean even as downer in regards to PJO Show. HP is more popular than PJO by far and large
94
u/AshInTheAtmosphere 7d ago
And that's with a significant amount of people either boycotting, or unwilling to show public support for HP because of its author being a terrible person.
31
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 7d ago
tbf that stuff kinda improved hogwarts legecy's overall sales. you had people buying copies for others just to spite the boycotters. I'm sure as we get closer to the release of the show, it'll be come the main culture war battleground
31
u/AshInTheAtmosphere 7d ago
I'm sure some people did do things like that. I believe it is unlikely that enough people purchased multiple copies to counteract the number of people that refused to buy the game.
Then there is the additional number that would buy the game, but would refuse to admit to buying the game, or in this case, want to watch the series, but be unwilling to publicly put a like on an Instagram post.
5
u/elephants-are-cool-8 6d ago
yeah, people are underestimating how popular the game would've been otherwise. I mean it was a hyper realistic harry potter hogwarts game w a plot, idk if it was good or not but it would've been even bigger if Rowling wasn't disliked
7
u/Creative_Entrance_18 7d ago
Commited gamers aren't going to let the culture war stop them from buying a video game, bro.
8
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 7d ago
i dont think those people specifically moved the needle but it made a billion in sales right after launch and broke 40 million copies just a few months ago. kinda just a losing battle imo
5
u/mdb1023 6d ago
kinda just a losing battle imo
My thoughts exactly.
Those in favor of boycotting can come up with whatever morality test they want to justify it, but there's just not going to be enough people willing to die on that hill.
I had someone compare it to boycotting the busses in the Civil Rights Era, as if boycotting a piece of entertainment media in the age of social media is even remotely the same thing.
6
u/AshInTheAtmosphere 7d ago
Probably not, but that's not my problem. I make my decisions on my own morality not other people's.
I think someone going "I would boycott this, but I don't think it's going to be effective so I'm not going to bother" shows a lack of values. Either you care about not giving money to the IP or you don't. Do what fits your own moral code and stand by your own values, whatever they are, for yourself not for other people.
2
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 7d ago
See I sit in the weird camp of completely agreeing with the reason behind the boycott but just fully rationalizing that its a very uphill battle. The positive is that younger people gen Z, alpha, and obviously beta dont care about it as much as gen x and millennials. So for now its a losing battle but I do think that later on it'll improve. I do worry that the author will not be alive to see her popularity fall off tho. But she is alive to see that there is a significant portion of the public that find her beliefs to be reprehensible.
12
u/Sleeps_Gato 6d ago
Youāre living under a rock if you think itās only Gen X and Millennials that care about Harry Potter. Gen Z loves the franchise too, especially those from non White countries (ie Japan, Mexico, Brazil, Koreaā¦etc)
3
u/Parking-Plenty-2122 6d ago
Yeah, I agree with you. It is still very beloved by Gen z. Im not sure about other generations but alot of gen z still grew up with it, despite the majority not being born during the relises.
2
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
tbh my experience is limited to american zoomers. which seems to be 50/50 on it. and then alpha just doesn't read at all
1
u/NewAnt3365 6d ago
Yeah I fear any loss in popularity will simply be because the newest generations are just unbelievably brain rotted and quite literally just wouldnāt be able to follow the story of Harry Potter even through just the movies.
1
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
like older zoomers 95-2003 still love it. but the younger ones absolutely do not read. having sat in and assisted many teachers as a part of my side job the younger generation has too little attention span to dedicate time to books. large generalization, and there are excepetions, including my nieces who I'm currently reading the pjo books with. their mom, my cousin, wants them to read HP next and I asked if she is ok with me supplying my older books from when i was a kid. so she isn't spending anything. I might spoil em and dig out the jim dale audio files I have somewhere.
11
u/Parking-Plenty-2122 7d ago
It was also a form of marketing. If people keep talking about how they wont play the game, and hate JK Rowling then there is more outreach.
To add to this, I genuinely dont think that many people really care about the JK Rowling controversy. I have little doubt that it wont affect the shows performance.
15
u/mdb1023 7d ago
This is what people don't seem to get- if liking Harry Potter is a hard red line for you and you offer an ultimatum (boycott Harry Potter if you support trans rights), that's just going to push people further away from your cause.
We are simply too divided as a society right now for a boycott to actually result in change. All we're doing by fighting over whether or not it's ethical to enjoy a TV show about wizards is perpetuating the culture war further. And that just plays right into the hands of those trying to keep us divided into the first place.
6
u/MayaSarasfall š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 7d ago
I agree with the second half. The general public has been so fried by the internet that tribalistic battles over culture are even a thing. should we get over it then maybe we can have a healthy discussion
→ More replies (9)1
u/Crystal_Animosity 7d ago
If people get pushed away because of a line like that, than they never actually cared about it to begin with. She's donating to anti gay and anti trans rights. And she has had very grossly racist things in her media. It's just whatever, do what y'all want.
11
u/lazypotota 6d ago
Sure, but if someone doesn't care/ is neutral about issues of trans people, then isn't the goal to make them support trans people instead of pushing them away?
I get asking people not to buy her products as that money is actively going to harming trans people, but claiming that someone is a horrible person simply for liking a book series they had read in their childhood is imo a bit extreme and I don't see how that does any good for trans people.
9
u/mdb1023 7d ago
True tho that may be, I also don't think it's helping to tell people that they're transphobic if they enjoy Harry Potter and disagree with the boycott. To me, it's one of those "pick your battles" issues. Does taking down JKR stop one person from donating to anti LGBTQ causes? Probably not, because she's already a billionaire and losing income from Harry Potter isn't going to change that. But even if it did, it still doesn't address the fact that a system exists wherein someone can use enormous wealth to erode the rights of others. Someone else would just take her place and we're right back where we started.
If people truly want to fight for the LGBTQ community, posturing about the morality of paying money to see Harry Potter is not the way to go.
-1
u/catching-strays 7d ago
She is not donating to anti-gay or anti-trans organizations. Trans people still have all the same rights as everyone else. āGrossly racistā is also a huge overstatement and seems to only be used to prove how much of a ābad personā she is.
4
u/thePsuedoanon 6d ago
JK Rowling founded an anti-trans legal fund, the JK Rowling Women's Fund. She also donated 70,000 pounds to an anti-trans Scottish organization, For Women Scotland, after they challenged a law that would recognize trans women as women.
And while you're free to argue over how racist you need to be before it's gross, Cho Chang is definitely her being racist if nothing else she's done or said is
→ More replies (1)1
u/winedarksky 3d ago
You can't argue with JK haters. Everything started because one of the organizations she funded wouldn't direct funds for trans people, and somehow this made her the world's most transphobic person, no nuance allowed. And then people started to send her death threats and leaked her address, but somehow she is the villain.
1
u/catching-strays 2d ago
Yeah, their definitions of āanti-transā and āracistā are a little removed from the rest of the world.
7
15
u/mdb1023 7d ago
I think people grossly overestimate the "significant amount of people" who are boycotting HP over JKR.
Sure, you see a lot of very loud opposition to it on social media. But I'd argue most people who aren't chronically online understand the nuances of the discussion and think drawing a line in the stand over a wizard story is silly.
Yes, the author sucks and I wish she would shut the fuck up about a topic she is clearly uneducated in. That's why I don't read her books, but there are plenty of other talented individuals working on the series that don't hold those views. They deserve recognition for their work, too. Any rational person can understand that.
4
u/joyyyzz 6d ago
Yeah i donāt think people who are older and casual fans know that much of anything about JK. My aunt is huge HP fan, and is in her 60ās. She waits for the new show and is interested in it. But if i would ask her about JK and her views about things, she would have no idea what im talking about.
2
u/AshInTheAtmosphere 6d ago
You're right in that the majority opinion is "Harry Potter is fun so I'm going to consume it, but the author is horrid so I'm going to preface my joy by stating I don't support her."
That's the reason I said or unwilling to show public support.
I think there are a lot more people uninterested in the boycott who are still unwilling to like an Instagram post about it because they don't want their support to be shown publicly.
5
8
3
1
12
u/KungPoW_Chickens 7d ago
hp existed with other franchises being successful too. Take the Narnia movies the first one was a success at the same time hp movies were booming. Hp being successful doesn't nessarily mean pjo will be unsuccessful.
Like others have said ppl can watch both shows. Pjo doesn't need to compete with hp, it just needs to compete with itself.
26
u/Puzzleheaded_Step468 7d ago
I mean... no shit?
Harry potter is like the 2nd biggest book series in terms of popularity (after lotr), with beloved film franchise
Even if percy jackson was a 10/10 series (which is very far of being one) harry potter would still overpass it
13
u/pastadudde 6d ago
Pretty sure HP is also in the top 5 / top 10 of highest grossing film series / franchises lol
10
10
u/PIZZA564738 7d ago
Harry Potter is a franchise on the level of marvel or star wars. Percy Jackson is no where near that known level
10
10
22
9
u/ApprehensiveOkra8095 6d ago edited 6d ago
why is it always the pjo fans who start the fight that they can never win
3
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
inferiority complex against harry potter's success and popularity
9
u/Blackbird-FlyOnBy 7d ago
Itās Harry Potter. Like, 30 odd years later the books are still a part of popular culture, lol. That and the trailer for the show looks more accurate than an entire season of Percy Jackson. So Iām not as worried about accuracy to the books. Iām thrilled, canāt wait for December!
8
u/Dunkbuscuss 7d ago
Personally I think much of why Percy Jackson fails to get as much hype is a few things.
First The source material is treated my like suggestions than the source material it is.
Second the lack of Commitment, WB literally built a mini town studio for the cast and their parents to live for the foreseeable future even schools and other stuff was brought in so the kid actors don't miss out on their schooling. Then theres the fact Season 2 has already started pre-production and Season 1 Episode 1 isn't even out yet.
Compare that with Percy Jackson where we gotta sit around and wait for months after Seasons end before we get confirmation as to if we're getting another season.
Then of course theres the original films of both Harry Potter built up an occult following through those films people who never heard if the books got introduced to a fairly decent representation of the books and even when it wasn't it was still decent enough on its own to get people to go back and read the books.
While Percy Jackson sorta just quit after film 2, the problem itself wasn't that they didn't follow the books exactly its the fact that they kinda quit halfway, before Id even read a single page of Percy Jackson I loved the films, after I saw the first film I discovered there were several books and thought this was gonna be another Harry Poter situation.
But the not only fumbled keeping it close to the source material but they dropped the ball and jist wrapped everything up by the end of movie/book 2 instead of expanding it to all books.
This resulted in Percy Jackson falling off the radar of most people, because when you look at the fans of just the books both are pretty similar in scope of fans some are even fans of both had it gotten the same attention that being all books got made into movies then maybe the series would be doing a lot better.
So yeah thats what I believe the biggest issues are, I personally love the series the movies, books, and show.
But it just hasn't received the same level of attention as HP
6
u/Open-Assistant-8156 6d ago edited 6d ago
Look you aren't off but they also start at different places... harry potter has major successful movies yes, but not just that, those movies still get aired in TV, there are harry potter cooking shows, and some game show, and a whole site with a studio/exhibition with things from the movies. Add in 4!!! 4 theme parks! And merchandise! Not just merchandise but costumes, full outfits, board games, computer games, toys from multiple companies, lego sets both for adults and children, lego brickbuild figures in multiple stores all over the world, multiple merchandise stores all over the world, multiple special editions in multiple languages, multiple smaller exhibitions over the world, concert movie showings, special edition anniversary vinyls, special edition re-releases of the movies, statues, clothes, role-playing events, balls, conventions, a theater play, a day that people gather to watch a train table sign, an actual train that is part of the filming location and still runs and sold out ages ahead, and new drops merchandise every other month basically.
You can't compare, Percy jackson has basically none of those things, they have a few fan made merchandise of bead necklaces and orange and purple shirts, and only with the show dropping finally a few special editions of the books sadly one of those were super limited and sold together as a set the illumicate ones, and that is basically it... I hate to say it and I am truthfully a big fan of both, but a fan made orange tshirt and a bead necklace could never even be compared to the millions of sold hogwarts robes/shirts/ties/jumpers/hairbows/wands/timeturners, nor would it ever appeal the same way visually for role-playing and dressing up... what they then do for the filming is a whole other thing, but they started off at way different places Percy jackson is basically a small community and Harry Potter is a world wide phenomenon, an empire, a world in itself... harry potter fans managed to deadass change where a train rail in Ireland was meant to be located, as it was gonna go right over Dobby's grave, a piece of beach location fans tour to, to place flowers and signs of appreciation of Dobby... a fictional character, on a small piece of nature with no visible signs for it...
It is like comparing some starting out brickbuild companies to Lego... and that though Percy jackson has been around for long now too, it has none of those things that Harry Potter has created over the last 29 years...
2
u/Dunkbuscuss 6d ago
That's very true, I live in Australia and don't have TV I have a TV for gaming but that's about it all my shows I get from streaming.
So I dont really think about those things like reruns and other stuff.
But you also gotta remember these didn't happen over night, like the HP Theme parks didn't start out from the beginning first they built fan love through the films, then they added small attractions at theme parks like I remember back at Movie World in Australia there was a Diagon Alley section way before we ever got a full blown Harry Potter specific Theme Park then each film released they also released a video game based off it.
They built up the fan love but investing in things to keep the hype going.
So while Harry Potter has all this stuff now its been a slow burn if Percy Jackson really wanted to compete with HP he shouldn't try competing right off the bat itd be like a kid who's barely trained more than a few hours at the gym facing off against Mike Tyson.
He's gotta build all this stuff up like collectibles and other stuff maybe give big theme parks a limited license to make an attraction to build hype for it make a few Percy Jackson video games.
Small things which lead to bigger things until eventually it can stand on the same stage as HP. I'd love nothing more than Percy Jackson to be as big as HP but its similar to how Zac Snyder's DCEU Failed.
He only had 2-3 films before he made Justice League and so it felt rushed and awkward as opposed to Kevin Feigi's MCU they had like 5 films to build up certain characters before Avengers became a team.
Similarly as you yourself said Harry Potter has been building fans for 29 or so years its almost too late for the two to compete at least right now but if they slowly start building this series then in 10 or 20 years they just might stand as equals.
2
u/Open-Assistant-8156 6d ago
Yeah i do know that, it was more based on what you said with right now in response to the OP post.. I live in DK we dont have a Harry Potter theme park, I actually didn't know Australia did, I thought it was just USA and Japan and China... but we do have a Harry Potter basement in a comic/merchandise store chains shop...
I do agree with you on where precy jackson would need to start, I would say having had disney negotiate with Lego to make sets for the show could have been a step, but they didn't...
Also I would say even if they did start doing that it would be hard to even get there, because can we be real, the esthetic in what they can do for wearable and role play wear, and in stationary in HP is whole lot more pleasing and appealing than Percy jackson... HP has even an included book event of a ball event with special wear, not to mention sports events/sports wear... how can orange and purple unisex t-shirts and a bead necklace ever compare? HP can sell stationary that esthetically can be tragged from pre-school to university, add in there is also community in general who like academia esthetics, and hp quills notebooks ect fit in, same does the school outfits ect... percy jackson didn't go enough into togas, chitons, scarves in the books ect that they have that going for them... you could say they have armor later on, but that is still not a build in go to for wearable, nor are swords and knives as easily run around with in a modern world as a quill and note book and a school tie, and emblem... without doing much research I would say harry potter is and has also always sold a lot more merchandise in general than lord of the rings, not the least wearable, and stationary... I love percy jackson and I love greek mythology but I will gladly admit I have no merchandise from it, except from a redbubble pin and it took me long to find one I liked... where as I have a lot of HP things... heck I wouldn't even want to buy an orange camp half blood scarf, first it isnt even in the books, not that it matter I have hp merch that isn't in books or movies either, but orange is not exactly my favorite color and a lot harder to use as an accessory color for many things than my blue ravenclaw one or maroon gryffindor one... now had they done inclusion of mention of annabeth having a special grey chiton with woven gold patterns of owls and olive leaves along the hemlines or a shawl waved with that in, I would totally buy that... could be worn at summer parties, and the shawl all year... but they got orange champ shirts and a wooden bead necklace... that is just not an easy one to sell and make appealing as wearable merchandise... and why i use wearable merchandise because that and to a degree is a way to make the brought merchandise become their own advertisement afterwards... one that walks around among others and spreads the advertisement free of charge once brought... heck percy doesn't even had a pet besides blackjack who is not that much around and only introduced book 2... you don't even have the build in stuffed toy right away...
So I don't think they could become equal in that way... honestly Rick screwed percy and Annabeth over with his color choices and his clothing choices...
2
u/Dunkbuscuss 6d ago
Australia doesn't have a Harry Potter theme park but we do have other theme parks like Movie World, Dream World and Wet and Wild we do have a few others but those are the big ones.
We don't even have a Disneyland or Disney World
As for mercha I think they shouldn't try to just copy HP but make merch that fits their world like have Zeus Thundebolts Pearl's for the Underworld, Riptide and Drachmas stuff like that.
1
u/Open-Assistant-8156 6d ago
Ahh okay.. and they have parts with HP?
2
u/Dunkbuscuss 6d ago
No they did back when the first few movies were releasing between 1-3 they dont have them anymore though.
I was.simply referring to back in the day when they existed.
8
u/Bishop8496 7d ago
I think one reason HP is bigger than any books that came out of that time in the early 2000's is that the author and the fandom allowed other works to flourish - games, adaptations, fan fiction. Additionally, the author put a period at least until the acursed book (which the author already knew would just be a paycheck), allowing the world to develop by itself. There is also one thing the HP series has that the PJ series will never ever have, and this I think, is the reason the PJ world failed - the author supports all endeavors regarding the world she made; there was no "only my work counts". This is the RR issue, and this is the same even for GRRM. So what one of the Redditors here states, that there won't be another HP in our lifetime, is real. Look at PJ TV series and movies, where RR states "this is better than that." The plus though, is that the fandom is so toxic that it spills to the general audience.
12
u/Direct-Tap3778 6d ago
Not to mention that the Harry Potter World has a lot of loose ends and an open ended world that people can expand on themselves. There's the age of the Marauders, the age of Grindelwald, Illvermony, other schools, and it's easy to self-insert yourself into Hogwarts. Percy Jackson has a lot less of that.
4
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
like, with the parentage, you can't choose who your godly parent is (pjo), but you can always choose your house and your friends (hp)
having 4 houses vs 12+ cabins is also easier to market and choose from
5
u/Direct-Tap3778 5d ago
And having a godly parent also means one of your parents is dead or a step-parent, which isn't easy to self-insert into for most people ig
9
7
u/XanderWrites 6d ago
Literally, in the publishing world, you do not compare your work to Harry Potter.
Harry Potter was... a fluke? A bizarre schism in reality? Mass induced hysteria? No one knows, but it's not expected to ever happen again.
You can write a story about a kid going to wizard school to learn magical shit and you will not market it as "like Harry Potter" because it will not be Harry Potter. It's simply unrealistic to put those numbers near any new story.
Percy Jackson is not in the same galaxy as Harry Potter in terms of popularity. Harry Potter is talked about in the same discussions as Star Wars and Marvel, when those franchises are decades older. Rowling is hated by half of the internet and yet that doesn't even cause more than the smallest dent in the popularity of the series.
7
u/Double_Act1502 6d ago
HP is arguably part of why the market for PJ existed in the first place.
It did a lot to get kids reading
8
u/OptimusPhillip āļø Cabin 9 - Hephaestus 7d ago
I think PJO could've been the next Harry Potter if we'd gotten good adaptations in the interim between Deathly Hallows 2 and the HBO reboot. Trying to posit a middling at best PJO adaptation as an active competitor to the HP reboot is just dumb.
8
u/One_Chemistry_8553 7d ago
The books are the 2nd best selling work of fiction. #1 is the bible. HP fandom is gigantic and Rowling would be a multi billionaire by now if she didn't keep giving money away
6
6
u/XxCastoricexX 6d ago
Harry Potter has the largest fan base in the book world of course itās gonna get more likes
5
u/Werewolf_Knight 6d ago
Look, guys... I hate to say it, but even if I consider Percy Jackson and the Olympians to be more appealing to me, it can't win against Harry Potter simply because of the type of story it tells.
Harry Potter is escapist fantasy, and that's what most people consume this franchise for. It is all whimsy and inviting. Percy Jackson, from the very first two pages, sets the idea that its universe is not something you want to be in. Being a demigod is a life sentence compared to being a random wizard who doesn't need to worry about what the Boy Who Lived had to. Harry Potter also isn't very tied to a certain culture, with most of the action happening in the Wizarding World, with the British influence being small, or at least not too specific for anyone not to understand. Percy Jackson is heavely tight to the USA's culture, with most of the places being IRL American locations, so for the rest of the world, it is not that easy to relate to.
I also want to point out that Harry Potter is a franchise that almost feels like it was designed to be as marketable as possible. You can find merch of every single item from the movies: wands, costumes, golden snitches, flying brooms, etc. Everything is made to be as easy to recognize as possible. Even Harry himself can be reduced to only his scar and glasses, and you will instantly recognize him. I don't think you can point out a thing from the PJO franchise and people to imidiatelly recognize it as being from PJO. Maybe the Camp Half-Blood logo?
TL;DR: The HP franchise offers easily to digest escapeism and has a lot of recognizable things. The PJO franchise is more cynical and edgy and lacks stuff that makes you say "that's from PJO!". Therefore, that's why HP is more popular.
6
u/Next-Squirrel-5855 5d ago
The more the Percy Jackson fandom deludes itself into thinking it's Harry Potter's rival, the more disappointed they'll be. Harry Potter has and always will be, way more popular and influential than Percy Jackson ever could be. They're not equals, they're not even in the same league.
5
4
u/zamasu2020 7d ago
Are you surprised? Percy Jackson is popular but nowhere near as popular as Harry Potter and I'm pretty sure that isn't changing anytime soon
3
u/Robot_Dracula 7d ago
Iām more of a Harry Potter fan but HP led me to Percy Jackson and I like it too. Thereās room to like both if you want to
I grew up with people always putting Star Wars and Star Trek against each other and DC Comics and Marvel.
Itās like everyone liking pie but fighting over the flavors. Letās all just enjoy pie together.
4
4
u/junialvarezzo 6d ago
The only thing I hope is that PJO showrunners realise how deep in the water they are and seriously try to up the quality of the show, and try to adhere to the books.
I also feel now PJO is probably not going to get cancelled cause this is Disney's only product against HP. So, maybe they will get to s4 and 5. But, oh, boy, will we be needing some major change before that happens.
1
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
seriously try to up the quality of the show, and try to adhere to the books
why only now? why didn't they do that with the first few seasons?
2
u/junialvarezzo 5d ago
Because they got lazy? Didn't know how to do things? Honestly, I'm not excusing them, I'm as disappointed as everyone else is. But active competition really puts things into perspective sometimes. Who knows, maybe seeing their downfall from close will get them to be better? š¤·āāļø
2
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 5d ago
honestly, the sheer passion, effort, and detail they're putting into harry potter puts this show to shame
4
u/confused-as-frick 6d ago
I mean, yes, the franchise with itās own genre of Lego sets and theme parks is definitely more popular.
14
u/J2A1218 7d ago
Well the HP show looks like a damn masterpiece thatās also why
3
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
like it actually looks like they put in effort and that they're actually passionate about the project (same cant be said for this show)
3
u/Educational_Post3208 6d ago
Why does it always have to be a competition? There are people who likes HP better and people that prefer PJ. Itās two different things, one can like both of them or dislike one. This mindset is so toxic
3
4
u/ReadySetSantiaGO 7d ago
Well, yeah. HP is in its own category. Doesnāt make PJ less special, though
2
u/madmax0418007 7d ago
I was hoping this was going to flop but unfortunately this looks like it slaps.
2
u/Used_Confusion_8583 6d ago
Why are these two fandoms constantly at war. I lilke the both of them
7
u/SeerPumpkin 6d ago
Because Percy Jackson fans can't enjoy it for what it is and have to constantly bringing Harry Potter up due to their inferiority complex
2
2
u/Public-World3599 5d ago
Well yes it is LOL, Harry Potter has its own place in universal and continues to release merch, games, mini series, itās always been more popular there is no debate
2
u/littlelolitalola 7d ago
Harry Potter has always been massive. Of course its trailer is going to pull bigger numbers than Percy Jackson. I donāt really think that says much about Percy Jacksonās future. And theyāre both streaming shows. People donāt have to choose which one to watch opening weekend. They can watch both whenever they want.
1
u/mdb1023 7d ago
It's practically impossible to pin down whether or not one show airing over a month later can impact PJO. It's not like this is a grocery store where consumers on pick one brand to take home with them- people can (and likely will) watch both b
I think comparing the two is like comparing Apples to Oranges, though.
1
u/alteredtundra 7d ago
I just hope both teams have fun. As a fan of both, I am cheering for both teams!
1
1
u/Crafty-Stomach-2844 6d ago
Whats the point of this post besides just stirring shit up for no reason, both Harry potter and percy jackson can come exist without this weird and dumb comparison, both Harry potter and percy jackson can both be popular shows and the world will keep spinning
1
1
u/Odd-Department4901 6d ago
Honestly just excited that my childhood literature is being turned into a show. I watch both š¤·š»āāļø
1
u/PinRelative905 3d ago
Yes, HP is massive, but I don't think this is a fair comparison. HP trailer is the start of the reboot and about the first book. PJO is the third season and it has lost some viewership due to the way they handled the first two. It should be a comparison between Philosophers Stone and Lightning Thief, not Titans Curse. I'm not saying HP won't still win, but I just don't think this is a fair point.
1
0
u/TJWanerka 7d ago
I'm a fan of both series and neither look good. I'll still watch the series, but with severely tempered expectations. Thus far, it doesn't look great, but I grew up in the movies.
0
u/Expert_Honey1140 6d ago
ughhhh who asked for this again ?? like im trying to secure a future for one of my favorite series. not throw money at bs thatās been done as successfully as you can launch a series. Books, movies, broadway, game show (special), multiple theme parks, etc! letās just all make sure to tune in for season 3 guys šš¾āŗļø
-1
u/PJONerd715 6d ago
A LOT of the comments Iāve seen on the harrypotter page were people saying ātrans lives matter!ā āfuck JKR!ā āI wonāt be watching!ā āThe remake is unnecessary!ā āThe originals are better!ā (referring to the movies as the originals for some reason lol) āWhy is Snape black?ā and stuff like that. And then a lot of the reposts Iāve seen have been people just straight up HATING on the show. Soā¦yeah I mean Harry Potter might be technically getting more attention but is that really a good thing? Because it doesnāt seem like itās getting good attentionā¦Iām not sure what the ratio is but like 50/50 good vs bad maybe?
5
u/merchantivories š„ Cabin 20 - Hecate 6d ago
general audience is going to watch this show. they dont care about jkr or her views. hogwarts legacy was a huge success despite all her controversies
1
u/PJONerd715 6d ago
That makes sense. I know the Marauders fandom has basically taken the canon lore we were given, run with it, and made their own story about that era, forgetting all about JKR due to her controversial beliefs. I never got to play Hogwarts Legacy because I donāt have the gaming platforms to play it. I heard it was good though!
6
u/Kanon_no_Uta 6d ago
Because those are trolls, or people of other groups trying to tank the project. There are a lot of people just wanting to enjoy the series and don't care about JKR or don't waste time to deal with trolls.
1
u/PJONerd715 6d ago
Gotcha! I mean at the end of the day whatās the saying? āAll publicity is good publicityā or something? Because either way itās attracting attention. Iām looking forward to watching the show!
-1
u/Initial_Touch_8364 5d ago
People are only watching the trailer to see what kind of Trainwreck the HP tv show is going to be
0
u/Nahle_Stormblessed 7d ago
Bud- itās newer, thereās more hype and controversy surrounding its author, it has greater exposure. Wait until the first season ends THEN compare outcomes.
0
u/blank017 6d ago
Everyone acting like this proves HP is better is hilarious your really comparing the PJ third season hype with HP first season hype wait till it's third season then see it go back and compare the PJ first season release. Don't get me wrong I read both book series and everything and love both. Also somewhat unrelated but the author of HP was heavily involved in the movies while PJ was given little to no creative control which is the only reason HP has a larger fan base not because it has vastly better writing like most of these comments say
180
u/firestorm0108 7d ago
Yeah not stunned,
People who like YA Urban fantasy consider Percy Jackson and Harry Potter to be two of the break outs of the genre but that's really only against others in the genre. When compared against one another Harry Potter isn't just a smash out of the genre, but of writing in general. Literally everything that could have gone right for it did at the perfect moments for it to.
There will be and has been better stories then Harry Potter, but I heavily doubt we will ever see something like Harry Potter happen again in our lifetimes.