I’m not the biggest Harry Potter fan in the world, I thought the first 3 Potter films were ify at best, but the last few installments have won me over to the point that I’ve actually really been looking forward to the next Potter film “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”. Well guess what folks… looks like you’re going to have a wait a lot longer for it:
Warner Bros. Pictures today announced that it has moved back the release date of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” to Summer 2009. The sixth installment of the blockbuster Harry Potter franchise will now open day-and-date domestically and in the major international markets on July 17, 2009. The announcement was made by Alan Horn, President and Chief Operating Officer, Warner Bros.
In making the announcement, Mr. Horn stated, “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.
I strongly question this decision. I understand the reasoning behind the move, but to move such a major film with a fan base that has been anxiously awaiting the next installment at basically the last minute is a mistake in my opinion. From a business point of view I also think it’s a mistake to move the release date even further away from the release of the last Potter book. Yes it’s already been a while since the last book came out… but the more you can leverage the momentum of the book release the better.
And come on… didn’t they know that summer was a good time to release a movie BEOFRE? Are they just learning this now? Why didn’t they make this decision 5 months ago?
Either way, this move will neither improve or worsen the quality of the movie, but I think this is a bit of a slap in the face to rabid Potter fans who thought the latest release of their beloved franchise was close at hand.
(Source: IESB)
