SOUTH Dorset was in the grip of Harry Potter mania as youngsters crowded into cinemas to catch the first showings of the sell-out film.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is already proving a massive box-office hit, with tickets for advance screenings over the weekend sold-out.

Bookings are in high demand for the official opening today. Cinema bosses are predicting the film, based on the best-selling children's book by JK Rowling, will outgross monster smashes such as Titanic and Toy Story 2.

Cineworld, in Weymouth, was holding 16 screenings per day over the weekend and the Plaza, in Trinity Street, Dorchester, was inundated with ticket requests for its three daily showings.

Both cinemas were packed on Saturday morning as youngsters grabbed the first opportunity they could to view the film.

Its two-and-a-half-hour length did not deter some children in Weymouth from branding it one of the best films they had seen and promising to see it again.

Adults also admitted they had enjoyed the story of the young orphan, who on his 11th birthday is invited to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry after growing up under the stairs of a house belonging to his uncle and aunt.

Monika Brodowska, 10, of Weymouth, recommended others to watch the film.

She said: "It was brilliant and not too long at all.

"I want to see it again now. I've read the book and I knew what was going to happen but that actually made it better."

Gabriel Brodowski, eight, of Weymouth, was already quoting lines from the film.

He said: "I think it's one of the best films I've seen."

Elizabeth Brooks, nine, said: "I'm going to get it on video.

"It's quite funny and not scary, although six-year-olds might find it a bit scary."

Jo King, nine, of Weymouth, said: "You didn't expect things to happen even if you had read the book."

Pauline Thomas, of Dorchester, who watched the film with her three daughters, Kimberley, seven, Victoria, six, and Georgia-May, four, said: "It is a good story and it's quite enjoyable. It's very well done and not at all boring. I liked it and the children loved it."