Almost a month ago, I speculated that Warner Brothers might push back Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince to next summer.
Specifically, I said:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Warner Brothers opted to move ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to Summer 2009 in the next few weeks. When you think about it, this makes perfect sense.”
Well, the studio executives must have read the article and had a light-bulb go off over their heads. That or it was a pure coincidence (nah).
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Either way, Warner Brothers has officially announced that Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince has moved from its original November 21, 2008 release and will now be unveiled to the world on July 17, 2009.
And I mean that literally – the film is getting a “day-and-date” release which basically means its coming out in theaters all across the world on the same date.
Apparently, this move has to do with Warner Brothers’ overall lack of blockbuster tentpoles for next summer – aside from Terminator: Salvation, which is something else I suggested in my original article.
This gives the studio more time to build their markerting around the sixth Potter installment. Of course, I realize its a foregone conclusion that it’ll make a gazillion dollars because the previous films did.
Score one for Screen Rant.
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince will open in theatres July 17, 2009.
Source: Variety
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72 Comments
Awesome !! 4,,,
Make WB pay for their greed !!!
Boycott Potter 2009. !!!!
i call boycott
if i can wait 11 months i can wait one week more
that will be epic
i am so sad…ppl need to post videos on youtube, we need to do something…thats one slap in the face of every harry potter fan
warner bros is basically saying:
“we know that you pottertards will see the movie whatever whe we want! so we will release that during the summer, so we can get money from you all plus the non potter fans!”
I honestly think, 11 months from now when the hype is all back and its about to come out, no one will boycott opening weekend, lol.
Not a problem for me, I don’t see these films in theatre anyways
Yeah Rob, I totally agree,,,,!
I was trying to instill some empowerment to the fanbase, but there just not that organised or determinend to make a powerfull message.
O well,,,
Thats why the studios do whatever they want and never worry, the fans will take whatever they get,,,,
what im so upset about is how unorganised we are being
ive been to the leaky cauldron fansite and everyone is just as POd there, but we are too scattered to actually make an impact! we have to gather i say!
im thinking WB headquarters for whoever can make it, a group protest. and for those who cant, gather at their local theatre and protest there!
i mean yah okay i dont think complaining is going to get us very far, but thats just one thing we can do! boycotting is the best, make a dent in their revenue. im not just talking hp 6, im talking all WB products/movies/channels/ EVERYTHING WB related. i know its crazy but even if we could just get a solid amount of people doing this it will greatly affect the amount of money they make.
i also read an idea about sending empty waterbottles with notes on the inside that say “Dumbledore wants water, and we want the movie!”
i thought that was a cute added touch that would be easy to do
4,,, Look at it this way , you have time to spread the word. Ive also met with resistance on other sites.
Some telling me to grow up etc,,, but ppl have to fight with what is the most effective weapon. Money is that weapon.
Do what you can 4, and we can maybe make a difference,,, wht the hell it cant hurt.
haha my thoughts exactly
emailing LAtimes as we speak
The picture at the top says it all,,,
Money,, Money.
Nice work , 4!,,,
I tell ppl on other sites , im not advocating boycotting the film, just “Opening Weekend.” (Where they live).
That usally at least gets them to think about it.
4, Check in and let me know whats going on. Im all over Screen Rant, you can allways find me on other threads or Open Disscusion,,, Rock on brother.
I agree. I will boycott the first 2 weeks.
Warner Bros. is a greedy company.
Just to play devil’s advocate here… movie studios ARE a business and they have to position their products to make the most amount of money possible.
They did the same thing with the upcoming Star Trek movie – moving it from a Christmas ‘08 release to May ‘09.
Vic
i agree in that way i just feel it was poorly handled. i believe ive said many times in other places that this decision could not have simply been made over night. why all the advertising and lack of communication with partner companies? it could have been handled much better, and was not. thats one of the main reasons im so POd
Yeah Vic, I noticed that Star Trek “kinda” started that trend, now Potter thinks its ok, as well,,,
It seems all for the mighty opening weekend figures.
All im saying is the fans have a voice that they can use to tell the Studio, “dont do that, we might not show up as predicted,,,”
I mean how hard can it be to just stay away for the first weekend ???? Pretty easy boycott, but effective if done on a widescale.
(IMO) if nothing is done except whinning, this will continue to happen to more films.
What I don’t understand is, would less people see it if it came out this year? or more?
I don’t really get how in the summer, when ALL the other big movies are coming out, this movie can make ‘more’. Every other weekend has a big opening to take the crowd away. If it comes out this November, it owns the entire Fall season and Christmas Holidays…unchallenged
am I wrong in my analysis? Or do I not understand how it works.
(IMO) Rob, it has alot to do with scheduling, revenue this year as opposed to next year, and also dvd sales.
I agree,,,
Harry Potter is driven by a huge fanbase, there gonna see the film whenever its released.
Sure would be cool if half of them didnt go opening weekend.
The studio wouldnt know what to do if that happened.
It would effect release dates, and scheduling moves in the future,,,
My thought is if this is truly unavoidable, then at least give the fans something in consolation, like a documentary about the Potter films. Then release it at the original release date. Explain and apologize to the fans.
the old man,
If they did that, they’d charge $10 to see it. Or they’d split it into two, and charge $10 to see each half…OR, they’d move both to next year, split in four, combine two parts to go with Harry Potter 6, which they will have already splitted in 2, and charge you $10 to see each half of the double feature, separately but at the same time, because you can’t see one or the other…Gasp![takes deep breath]
ps. I hate Harry Potter
not really ‘hate’ but certainly dislike.
LOL
Your probably on the money!
I didn’t like it, but my Niece liked the first movies, so it became common ground. When she said she didn’t like the last one I was confused, because I didn’t pick up the differences right away. What don’t you like about Harry Potter?
I still believe it’s a good test case for the fans. Would you be moved to do something if “Iron Man2″ was done this way?
Personally, from the perspective of the books, I think it is underservingly popular. If you check out the fantasy section, there are hundreds and hundreds of novels and series’ of fantasy novels that are in a more realistic tone of magic, not the over-the-top kind. And I think there’s alot which are FAR better written and have better stories than Harry Potter. That’s just my opinion btw. I just think that somehow this franchise got the luck of the draw and was picked up by a bookclub group and sprouted from their. I think if any other 7-novel fantasy series was given a movie franchise and marketing budget, it would also have the same mass appeal, and might be infinitely better.
From the movies, or the story itself. I can’t stand how it cannot follow its own rules. Each story introduces one new magical item or spell which coincidently becomes the cornerstone key for the issue of that film or the following film. It just gets so tiring, and really, if they can do all these crazy things with wands, why the hell is there so many problems. Why does Harry need glasses? If there’s the possibility of time travel, why are any of these problems even still happening? lol
And then there’s a pile of little things…like naming one the houses, the Slytherin House…geeze I wonder which one the trouble makers belong to…It’s all just a overly exaggerated and doesn’t excite me, its more annoying and little to wink wink nudge nudge on everything. Especially EVERYTHING involving Malfoy which is just so stupid. They need to add the whistle slides and drum rolls on all jokes to make these movies make more sense to me, haha. I can go on an on, but itll just sound like some bitter rant. I’ve seen all the films but ive not read all the books. It’s just really really not my thing, and its made worse by seeing so many people buy into it, lol. But I’m sure everyone has something like that…Like Vic and his hate for Boondock Saints, lol.
My friends love it though, and I’m glad alot of people find something they can enjoy and especially for the little ones who can group up with the movies and their time frame. It’s also good to see that a movie franchise can keep its cast on for what will be a decade with an 8 movie series (recall the 7th book is split into two money-grabbing films)
do you mean if Ironman 2 was pushed back?
If so, I’d have no problem. Hell, I predict that it’s gonna need to be pushed back because it needs more time if its gonna be done for summer 2010. Jon Favreau made that point a great many of times, and has also said multiple times that Marvel made up this film schedule without any actual pre-production plans. The first Iron man took 2 years, the second needs at least that. And with the time needed to make a script, the film will be rushed to make that schedule
and we all know rush=greedy shortterm thinking execs making decisions=disappointment
Valid points Rob. I had to keep telling myself that old quote: “Technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.” And don’t get me started about time travel stories, I’ll get bashed, and have to hurt somebody over “The Sarah Connor Chronicles.”
I think story problems are a valid reason to delay the release of a movie. Announcing one’s release date then holding it up because the market is crowded is different. Wouldn’t you feel even just a little perturbed if that happened to “Iron Man 2?”
Honestly, the old man, I wouldn’t be bothered at all by a delay. there are SOOO many great things currently happening and currently in the works for the future of the movie industry that I don’t need to be impatient for certain things. If you check out this summer and what came out EVERY weekend, there’s plenty to be occupied and entertained with.
This little link will prove my point:
http://www.firstshowing.net/2008/01/10/official-guide-to-the-summer-of-2008/
Not to mention how many movies are now comicbook-based, DC will have more flicks, Fox will keep giving me randomly generated X-film plots, etc. etc.
That being said,
If Ironman ended in a middle of a plotline with a cliffhanger, then I’d be pissed. Because it would not longer be a standalone flick and it was planned as a continuation with the continuation actually being completed on time.
I guess the best example of that would be LOTR, which was all filmed at the same time. If there were, lets say, 2 years between those installments, that would suck. Same with Kill Bill, or the crappy Matrixs sequel. Those are filmed at once, and planned and scheduled for close releases.
for Harry Potter, there’s the obvious comparisons, but those films stand alone and are filmed alone.
ps. I actually like Matrix Reloaded, so my hate is pointed at Revolutions
woah, lots of typos above and missed words.
without the continuation part not being completed is what I meant.
Matrixs=Matrix, lol
(Not to go tooo far off topic)
Rob, the studio made the Wachoskis change the ending in Revolutions.
In the the original ending Neo, didnt die and the Matrix was changed in a more postive light.
Ok, back to Harry Potter news!!
No worries on the grammer issues Rob.
Nobody here is perfect.
yes seriously we should do huge protests on the same day in england and america and if theres anyone here from different countries then it will be like a world protest and on the news hopefully if its allready made then they might change it back
This is super smash brothers brawl all over again.
Yes. Okay well it’s been a while and I’m hating that protesting has died down so I’m just doing another round to try and get the fans stirred up again. I haven’t forgotten
To go all the way back to August….
Rob I’m pretty much with you on the point of it not mattering when it opens because it’ll bring in millions regardless. However, now the Twilight movie has been moved to the original date of release for Harry Potter, the hope that they will put it back on the 21st is relatively pointless. They would not be able to bring in as much, because people would be torn between the two. Atleast the female audience would be haha I still think that if they moved it back to a Christmas release they would dominate the box office.
I think that WB has royally screwed themselves when it comes to the die hard fans, but only the die hard fans are putting up any sort of fight still. I think that unless we all step it up, the chance of them listening to us at all is none. Let’s face it, everyone’s anger at WB has died down, just the way that WB was hoping it would. How many people will actually boycott opening weekend? I have no idea, but if it’s only me, I don’t think it’s going to make much of an impact haha XD
well to be honest im quite happy theyve moved it now because now i can go to the premiere and my hair wont friz if its in the summer and it will hopefully be warm so i can wear my weasleys wizarding weezes top so s’all good although im still protesting because it would have been the best to watch it on christmas eve. i saw philosophers stone on chrimbo eve n it was wizard. xx
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