At least 600 fans will take over four screens at the United Artists Berkeley 7 theater on Shattuck Avenue to watch the first showings of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part Two at midnight on July 15.

For those still hoping to see the film before the majority of the world, a recently added 12:04 a.m. and a 3 a.m. showing still have seats available. There are 175 seats left at 12:04 a.m., and theater employees said they are going fast.

Tickets are $10.50 for a regular showing, and $11.50 to see the film in 3D.

"We've sold about 50 tickets for [3 a.m.]," said James, a general manager at UA Berkeley 7, who said it's hard to sell tickets for shows that early in the morning, even for the finale of Harry Potter. "It's such a long movie, you're not out until 5:30 a.m."

Due to a no-competition pact between Berkeley theaters, UA Berkeley 7 is the only local theater playing the movie. The closest theater also playing the movie is Emeryville's AMC Bay Street 16.

James expects about ten to 15 fans to come in hardcore wizard costumes. "Quite a few will come dressed up, but not as many as you may think," he said.

He also expects the large crowd to be well-behaved. "Everybody has been very good," he said citing past Potter films and other blockbuster premieres, such as Batman: The Dark Knight in 2008. "Everyone's there to watch the movie, not to be drunk or talk."

From a business standpoint, the end of the wizarding series is bad news. "It's one of the few movies we can say will be an instant sell-out," said James, who's worked at UA Berkeley 7 for nearly eight years.

The end of the series is a sentimental occasion for personal reasons, as well. "It's sad, obviously," he said. "It's one of the first movies I remember watching here as a student, before I worked here."

What's the theater employee's favorite Potter film? "The Goblet of Fire," he said. "I really liked the tri-wizard tournament."

But with high expectations for ticket sales throughout the first week of Deathly Hallows: Part Two giving James a busy theater to manage, he won't sit down to watch the end of the series himself for a while. "Probably not until the second week or so," he said.