'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' Moved to July 2009

We just received word from Warner Bros. that Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has been moved from its November 2008 release date to July 17, 2009. I can't be alone thinking the studio is seeing the dollar signs that their Dark Knight just threw on the board opening on the same weekend, right? Yes, there may well be other issues, but doesn't this move give the studio more time to plan a marketing strategy to target this film's maturing fan base, and doesn't it also let Warner Bros. more aggressively market The Dark Knight for Oscar consideration? I'm just speculating, if the film is essentially finished, as the studio's Jeff Rubinov attests in the afternoon press release, could anything but money be behind the switch? Warner chief Alan Horn commented on the sudden change of direction.

"Our reasons for shifting Half-Blood Prince to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment.  Additionally, like every other studio, we are still feeling the repercussions of the writers’ strike, which impacted the readiness of scripts for other films—changing the competitive landscape for 2009 and offering new windows of opportunity that we wanted to take advantage of.  We agreed the best strategy was to move Half-Blood Prince to July, where it perfectly fills the gap for a major tent pole release for mid-summer.”

Well, there you have it: It's the ol' hit 'em where they ain't approach. As of now, July 2009 really only has one must-see film...and it's the movie that just gave us a change of address card. We've got the next Ice Age movie on July 1st, 2012 on July 10th, Land of the Lost competing with Potter on the 17th, the trio of G-Force, Piranha 3-D, and Planet 51 on the 24th, and the remake of The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 on the 31st. Now it becomes more clear... Admittedly, this is a gutsy move. There aren't many properties more prominent or beloved than Harry Potter. You don't want to disappoint its legion of fans. At the same time, however, if any movie could get away with this and possibly make more money in the process, it's this one.

Comments

[mdelmege]

This deeply saddens me.

[Orinn]

Sadness, the best way to look at it is when e do get to see it there will be less of a time gap between this movie and the next, at least I hope.

[Asana]

"As of now, July 2009 really only has one must-see film...and it's the movie that just gave us a change of address card."

It's for comments like the one above that I'm so glad to have wandered upon this site and have continued to read daily ever since. Simply priceless in the funny bone department and the way it's just slipped in there so artfully. Enough of my gushing though... I am disappointed in this decision to move Potter to next year especially after seeing the full trailer recently.

It's for the big money payday and I don't doubt that Dark Knight's box office performance spurred the idea. Clearly, the film stands a better chance during the summer vacation window of bringing home not just the goose but any golden eggs it may have laid than November does. It's unfortunate for the fans but as a business decision and ultimately it comes all back to the money... it's sound. Unless of course fans hit a fever pitch and boycott the film en masse.

[Will]

This site also was the first to report that Ron Weasley dies in this episode...so there's that to consider...

By the way, James Bond must not be wearing any deodorant, because all of season's "other" popcorn flicks have beat feet already.

And by "other" of course, I mean Star Trek.

...sigh

[Get The Big Picture]

Great points, Will. Yes, we did say Ron Weasley dies. I've been using variations on that joke for five years. It's been very funny except for the time when Richard Harris actually died and I got it right months in advance.

Recently, I also killed Estelle Getty and William F. Buckley by being the only person to bring up their names in months. It's my gift.

But what you said about Quantum of Solace is really interesting. I don't know how many people have looked at November and December, but in terms of movies with $200 million potential, there's only one left standing: Bond. Could you imagine if The Dark Knight had such an open playing field? It would've beaten Titanic after all.

Asana - Thanks for the compliment. We try to be a little different. At least we're not sweaty fanboy doofuses. There's enough of them online already. As for whether the crowd will hang around for Potter next summer, I think this increases its potential audience because parents and working adults who would spend much of their late November and early December in other parts of the mall will now have the ability to check this one out when there aren't holidays to shop for. And they'll also have more disposable income, as well.

[Ritornella]

I have to say that the putting back of this film is an awful decision. Kids have been growing up with Harry and when I told my oldest child that they would have to wait until mid next year to see it they replied that they were sick of waiting for the movies and didn't care if they saw the last couple. How many other people around the world are thinking the same thing?
Also, we live in Australia and July is the middle of winter here so Summer box office numbers don't mean that much to us because winter in Melbourne is awful and no one wants to leave their lovely warm house for a movie that is old news (or will be before it is released).
How many theived and pirated released do you think there will be before the flick officially gets to us?

[JCD]

Extremely sick and tired of waiting for this blasted movie.
I'm not entirely sure if I'll bother going to see it in the end. I'm getting older by the day.
July... it'll make a good 17th birthday present if I don't decide I've grown out of it.