Another literary favorite, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, is also expected to be a hit when the film version is released next month.
People be may seeking escapist entertainment, but Kim Lawton reports these fantasy films also have a spiritual dimension.
KIM LAWTON: These are worlds of mystery and magic. Where children learn witchcraft, evil threatens, and wizards rule.
They are worlds where hairy-toed creatures called hobbits set off on an epic journey to challenge the forces of darkness, where cataclysmic battles unfold. And through it all, they may also be worlds of deep spiritual meaning.
PHYLLIS TICKLE, (PUBLISHERS WEEKLY): What fantasy really is, is its author or creator's description of how he or she sees the interior world. It's what make-believe is. It's a world you've made out of thought, and those are always spiritual worlds.LAWTON: Fantasy literature is by no means a new phenomenon, but it's experiencing a resurgence of popularity. Riding on the Potter coattails, sales of fantasy books by other authors are also skyrocketing, including books by authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien that were written 50 years ago.
HARRY POTTER's runaway success is generating millions of new fantasy fans. It is magic-filled entertainment, but some observers say the new national attention to fantasy could also have theological implications.
MS. TICKLE: What the child at nine reads as a story and takes into himself or herself becomes part of the building block of a life, and that child, turned 39, will have in his or her repertoire of understanding of theology, of religion, of morality, of spirituality, the context and the message of that story. So story is a very subtle thing, always.
LAWTON: Children and adults alike are spellbound by the story of Harry Potter, the young orphan who discovers he's really a wizard. Transported by a magical train, Harry and his friends hone their skills at a boarding school for witchcraft and wizardry. There they confront monsters and mysteries.
At a birthday party for Harry Potter in New York, fans came dressed as their favorite characters. They reflected about what draws them into Harry's world.
JACKIE DINAS: The magic part makes it the most interesting, because there's this hidden magic world that we live in.
LAWTON: Thirteen-year-old Jackie Dinas shares her Harry Potter books with her dad, a longtime fan of Tolkien's books. He sees similarities between the two works.
PAUL DINAS: I found the value system basically one of respect and goodness that comes through, even in the face of adversity and that's what I love about the books because the values system, even though it is magical, does emulate the values that we want all our kids to have. LAWTON: But some adults worry that HARRY POTTER may be transmitting the wrong kind of values.
MARQUIS SCOTT: Magic is cool. It means, like, you could trick people. You can make them do things that they don't want to do.
LAWTON: Some adults say Harry Potter and his friends too often get away with bad behavior.
RICHARD ABANES (Author, HARRY POTTER AND THE BIBLE): The Harry Potter books contain moral teachings that are relativistic, meaning the ends justify the means. You decide for yourself what is right or wrong. There is no standard of what's right and wrong outside of one's self. LAWTON: Even more troubling for some conservative religious communities is the emphasis on witchcraft. A few Catholic and evangelical schools have banned Harry Potter books.
CONNIE NEAL (Author, WHAT'S A CHRISTIAN TO DO WITH HARRY POTTER?): This is a rich piece of literature. Complex, not simple. I say to parents, you do what you believe is best for your kids. You need to know what is in these books. You need to know what it means to you. You need to know whether your child can distinguish between fantasy and reality.
J.R.R. Tolkien, on the other hand, called his LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy "a fundamentally religious and Catholic work." While there are no explicit references to religion in the books, Tolkien said the religious element, is "absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
MS. TICKLE: One of the great gifts of fantasy literature to the adult is the opportunity to go back and to remember again, or to touch some of the wonder that was his or hers as a child. 
