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LOS ANGELES — "Harry Potter" cast a spell at the People's Choice awards on Wednesday on a night that also saw big wins for singer Katy Perry at the start of the Hollywood awards season.
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" — the last installment of the hit movie franchise about the British boy wizard — won four awards, including best movie and favorite ensemble cast. But the film's stars also weren't present at the ceremony, leaving more time on the CBS broadcast for winners in other categories.
Perry won five trophies, including best female music artist and favorite song for "E.T." But the perky pop star pulled out of Wednesday's live TV ceremony following her split with British comedian Russell Brand two weeks ago.
Perry told fans on Twitter earlier this week that she wouldn't attend the show but that "I want to thank u all for voting for me, fingers crossed!"
"Bridesmaids" won best comedy movie, while "Water for Elephants," starring "Twilight" heartthrob Robert Pattinson, won best movie drama.
Emma Stone took the trophies for both movie actress and favorite comedy actress for her roles in civil rights era film "The Help" and "Crazy, Stupid, Love."
"I moved to L.A. eight years ago this week with my mom, who's right there," Stone said while accepting her pair of crystal trophies. "It is so insane to be standing up here right now. It is hard to describe to you."
Morgan Freeman was bestowed with the first-ever favorite movie icon award.
"When I found out that I'd been nominated for the first-ever People's Choice movie icon award, I decided to look up 'icon,'" Freeman said. "Here's what I found: The first definition said an icon is a tiny picture on a computer screen that represents a file."
Former Disney Channel star Demi Lovato, 19, was voted favorite pop artist, beating the likes of Lady Gaga and Beyonce, while Maroon 5 won best band. Television honors went to "Glee" star Lea Michele and Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother," which also won favorite TV comedy show.
The show was hosted by "Big Bang Theory" star Kaley Cuoco.
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The People's Choice is the earliest of Hollywood's glittering annual awards shows. But unlike the Oscars or the Golden Globes, the People's Choice is totally fan-driven and provides few clues to the likely winners of the movie industry's highest honors in February.
The People's Choice hands out awards in more than 40 categories covering film, music, television. Organizers said on Wednesday that the winners were decided by more than 230 million public votes online, via text and through social media websites.
The popular "Twilight" vampire romance franchise, which has dominated People's Choice for the past two years, was not eligible to compete this year because of the timing of the "Breaking Dawn-Part 1" release in November.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
