Originally planning to release 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince' on Thanksgiving 2008, Warner Bros. changed their mind and moved it to new schedule in summer 2009.
- Aug 15, 2008
AceShowbiz - Apparently Harry Potter fans won't be able to enjoy their favorite boy wizard in the big screen sometime this year. In an announcement made by Warner Bros Pictures on Thursday, August 14, it is uncovered that "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" has been bumped to a new schedule putting it as a summer 2009 movie.
Slated to be released on Thanksgiving on November 21, the sixth installment of the J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" adaptation series will be opened nationwide as well as internationally on July 17, 2009. Reasoning on the delay, Warner Bros. president and chief operating officer Alan Horn explained that the move was taken in consideration on two main things, the first is the market timing and the second is previous writers' strike.
"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," Horn exposed.
"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."
At the same time, the studio also dished out any possible speculations that this schedule change may affect the next "Harry Potter" movies which has been set to begin production in February 2009 or that there is problem laying under "Half-Blood Prince". Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, said, "The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future 'Harry Potter' films."
"Post-production on 'Half-Blood Prince' was completed on time, and the studio's release plans for the two-part 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' will not be affected by this change. We know Harry Potter fans are eagerly anticipating seeing the final chapters unfold onscreen. In fact, the good news for them is that the gap will now be shortened between 'Half-Blood Prince' and the first part of 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.'"
"Half-Blood Prince" will deal with a darker matter than previous "Harry Potter" films since in it, dark wizard Lord Voldermort has expanded his terror, even to the safest haven of all, Hogwarts. Though he is suspecting that the danger now is lurking from within the stone wall and Dumbledore is preparing him for the worst that will ultimately strike them, Harry and his friends try to unfold the mystery behind the nickname 'Half-Blood Prince'.
Coming from the "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" helmer David Yates, the movie stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Tom Felton and many else. The script for David Heyman and David Barron-produced flick was provided by Steven Kloves.
