The release date for the sixth Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was pushed back on Thursday to July 2009 from its original slot in November 2008, movie studio Warner Brothers said. Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc, said it had decided to make the change to bolster its release schedule for the lucrative summer moviegoing season - a period that can account for as much as 40 percent of Hollywood’s annual box office receipts.
Warner Brothers President Alan Horn said the studio was also still feeling repercussions from the three-month Hollywood screenwriters strike that ended in February but has “impacted the readiness of scripts for other films. We know the summer season is an ideal window for a family . . . 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,” Horn said.
The studio said the change of date would not alter production plans for the final, two-part Potter movie adventure, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The release date for part one is tentatively set for November 2010.
I call BS on this. After ruining Order of the Phoenix by forcing a shorter cut, now they are sticking it to Harry Potter fans by delaying the movie so Warner can make more money. What a blatant example of the hubris and greed of movie executives. I’d say that I would boycott the movie next summer to send a message to Warner that the Harry Potter movies should be about the fans. It will make money no matter how long it is, whenever it opens. But who am I kidding, I’m a Potter fan, and I’ll be seeing it opening weekend in November or July. I just felt the need to comment on the corporate greed that is ruining the Harry Potter franchise - again - for its fans.