Harry Potter 6 Pushed to ’09!
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
Earlier this week, I posted the trailer for the upcoming sixth installment of HARRY POTTER, HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE slated for a November 2008 release. You can check it out by clicking here.
STOP THE PRESS AND MUGGLES TAKE NOTE!!
HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE will NOT be coming out in November after all!
Warner Bros. announced yesterday (August 14) that the studio pushing back the GLOBAL DAY AND DATE release of the film to July 17, 2009 due to “the overall market as well as the recent writers’ strike.”
Warner Bros. also noted that the rationale for the dramatic shift was to get the film placed as a summer tentpole to attract a broader audience and that the release date change will not alter the production schedule for future Harry Potter films.
Speculation in the industry is that this was a move by WB to bolster their 2009 bottom line considering the massive success of THE DARK KNIGHT this year.
The Dark Knight
Comping over the phenomenal number of THE DARK KNIGHT in 2009 would have been challenging with only the new TERMINATOR film on the WB slate and so it would make sense to think that the studio decided to save their HARRY POTTER juggernaut “trump card” until next summer.
HALF-BLOOD Teaser Poster
Still, I find it peculiar how late it is in the year for this announcement. With the film gracing the cover of Entertainment Weekly this week, there is already frustration in the marketplace with those who were planning for the release later this year.
The repercussions of this kind of date shift will be significant with promotional partners, suppliers, retailers and other HP partners who were banking on some magic in the Fall and have planned other programs around it.
Rumor has it that the studio will cut a new trailer, though a release date for that remains undetermined. The incorrect date, therefore, will likely be displayed in theatres this weekend when the trailer runs prior to the new STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS animated film.
The studio confirmed that release schedules for the two-part HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS will not be affected by this change. Filming for the first part of DEATHLY HALLOWS starts in February 2009.
Check out the full release from Warner Bros. by clicking here.
Calliope in Outer Space 
Gives everyone time to re-read the book. It was really good.
mom
[…] With the announcement that HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE has been pushed out into 2009, Summit announced that they will be taking advantage of the opportunity to give… […]
» TWILIGHT vs HARRY POTTER allan’s Blog said this on December 7, 2008 at 3:08 am |