Half-Blood Prince delayed until July 17th, 2009
Warner Brothers has just announced that Half-Blood Prince will be delayed. The film will instead be released on July 17th, 2009. From the press release: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. 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.”
Read the full release at the link below.
Press Release:
BURBANK, CA, August 14, 2008 – 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. 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.”
Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, confirmed, “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.’”
Commenting on the release date change for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” David Heyman, the producer of all the Harry Potter films, offered, “When Jeff Robinov explained the rationale behind moving the release date of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ to July 2009, it was immediately apparent that this offered us the potential to reach the widest possible audience. I am extremely proud of this latest film and of the work of David Yates and our incomparable cast; I believe we have developed and pushed the series further still. We are all looking forward to sharing it with Harry Potter fans around the world, even if we have to wait just a bit longer.”
David Yates, the director of both “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and who will also helm “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” added, “It has been a joy to work on ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ Dan, Rupert and Emma and all our returning young cast continue to blossom, and our new cast members bring fresh color and life to Hogwarts. Even as we put the finishing touches on this latest film, we are already beginning preparations on the final two films—we start filming in February—and I am excited to bring this remarkable series to the exciting and moving conclusion its loyal fans deserve.”
In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Yates, who directed last year’s summer blockbuster “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” returns to direct “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Heyman and David Barron are the producers, with Lionel Wigram serving as executive producer. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplay, based on the book by J.K. Rowling.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are reprising their roles as young wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film also stars Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis and Julie Walters. The cast also features David Bradley, Jessie Cave, Frank Dillane, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Helen McCrory, Natalia Tena, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Bonnie Wright.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
BURBANK, CA, August 14, 2008 – 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. 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.”
Jeff Robinov, President of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, confirmed, “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.’”
Commenting on the release date change for “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” David Heyman, the producer of all the Harry Potter films, offered, “When Jeff Robinov explained the rationale behind moving the release date of ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince’ to July 2009, it was immediately apparent that this offered us the potential to reach the widest possible audience. I am extremely proud of this latest film and of the work of David Yates and our incomparable cast; I believe we have developed and pushed the series further still. We are all looking forward to sharing it with Harry Potter fans around the world, even if we have to wait just a bit longer.”
David Yates, the director of both “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and who will also helm “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” added, “It has been a joy to work on ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ Dan, Rupert and Emma and all our returning young cast continue to blossom, and our new cast members bring fresh color and life to Hogwarts. Even as we put the finishing touches on this latest film, we are already beginning preparations on the final two films—we start filming in February—and I am excited to bring this remarkable series to the exciting and moving conclusion its loyal fans deserve.”
In “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. Harry suspects that dangers may even lie within the castle, but Dumbledore is more intent upon preparing him for the final battle that he knows is fast approaching. Meanwhile, the students are under attack from a very different adversary as teenage hormones rage across the ramparts. Love is in the air, but tragedy lies ahead and Hogwarts may never be the same again.
Warner Bros. Pictures presents a Heyday Films production, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Yates, who directed last year’s summer blockbuster “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” returns to direct “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.” David Heyman and David Barron are the producers, with Lionel Wigram serving as executive producer. Steve Kloves wrote the screenplay, based on the book by J.K. Rowling.
Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson are reprising their roles as young wizards Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The film also stars Jim Broadbent, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Timothy Spall, David Thewlis and Julie Walters. The cast also features David Bradley, Jessie Cave, Frank Dillane, Tom Felton, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Helen McCrory, Natalia Tena, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, and Bonnie Wright.
“Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” will be released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.
Posted by Andrew on Aug 14th |
1478 Comments
Visitor Comments
twilight wudnt have taken their money away theres enough time to see both movies. as for hbp ima watch the bootleg or something lol
Is there like, a petition we can start for this? This is crazy. I'm so pissed off at WB right now.
well this is very suckish every was so happy in konowing it was getting so close to time and now this mabey mugglenet should show all of thes commets to make change there minds
F U C K you warner ASS
Wow, I don't know if anyone commented on this, but this really touched a nerve. From the Yahoo article: "The picture is completely, absolutely, 100 percent on schedule, on time. There were no delays," Horn told The Associated Press. "I've seen the movie. It is fabulous. We would have been perfectly able to have it out in November." This made me even MADDER! Why say that when SO many fans would do anything to have this movie come out in November! I'd almost recovered from the shock, but now I'm in a horrible mood. -_-
Silly move on Warner Brothers' part, changing the date to try and make more money. Because it is all about the money. Is it worth it, though? They've made millions of loyal angry fans angry, and besides - just look at Lord of the Rings, and how much money they made releasing over Christmas Break. Harry Potter is so huge that is doesn't matter when they come out - they're going to make a lot of money. Especially since the books are done. There are millions of fans holding on to the last Harry Potter-ness they can get.
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAT?!
At least there wont be this big gap between HBP and DH part 1
@MaskedBeauty: Yes, there is a petition. Go to http://www.petitionspot.c om/petitions/harrypotter6 (you'll have to remove the spaces).
THIS IS BULLS&!T!!!!! We had less than 100 days and now we have a little over 11 months. This is so selfish of them...all they want is to make alot of money...they don't care about us. The movie is done so they need to put it out for us to see!!! We need to do something to let them know we are pissed and that it's a bad idea!!! They can change the release date again, they've done it to other movies.
Join this Facebook Group!! Boycott the WB!! Bring Half-Blood Prince back to November! http://www.facebo ok.com/group.php?gid=4822 3856240 (remove spaces in URL)
There IS a petition MaskedBeauty. And mugglecast this is a great topic!!!lol
WTF Warner Bros? I thought it was finished, anyway! They just want more money...
WHAT THE F*** Ok, I'm going to make a petition about this. everyone better sign.
No, its not Twilight. At least, that's not the main reason. The Dark Knight was the blockbuster of 2008, no question. The WB believes that Half-Blood Prince is also a blockbuster, so they want to claim the title on 2009. Spread out the funds, so its not millions of dollars in '08 to thousands of dollars in '09. Sick and twisted as it is, its all business, its all greed and its all complete rubbish. This is beyond dissapointment. This is disbelief and shock. And I'm in awe of how WB managed to scew themselves over to the fans YET AGAIN. CONGRATUFRICKINLATIONS.
Well i guess WB is officially slapping the fans in their faces. Instead of boycotting the movie completely, why doesnt everyone just go see it but buy tickets to a different movie?
~~~~CALL AND COMPLAIN!!!!~~~~~~ US: 818-954-1919 International 020 7984 5222
warner brothers are just out to make an extra buck. they couldn't give a flying stuff about the fans. ahhwell. i'm pretty sure that there going to get "several" angry emails ;) warner brothers will have to be praying that this movie is REALLY good. i wonder if the people who say there gonna boycot actually do :P OH and it better not be delayed anymore for australia...........
This is absolute BULLSH!T. If WB doesn't change the date, I'm not seeing it in theaters either. The film is just going to be laying around somewhere for 11 months. The only reason for this is so that greedy WB can make more moolah. GGAAAHAGHAGHAAGHAGHAG HH F U WB, YOU CAN GO TO HELL!
lol!!! thats an awesome idea lol!!! all the money wud go to some other movie! hahaha!
I agree I think the pations are no good, I believe if there were issues then they should have made this announcment a long time ago, not wait until there were less then 100 days to go and say, whoops we have to change our minds, and realise the movie later, sorry folks. Such a bad negative move. Also have you noticed that many of the post on this are repeated many times, not cool, guys Not sure what to think, sit back and see what happens.
I guess that WB doesn't realize that true Harry Potter fans would see in November and again in July 2009 if they had to.I would personally see it over and over.Again,this I hope is a joke! I am so pissed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!
OMG what a HORRIBLE AWFUL CRUEL AND EVIL thing to do to fans, HOW COULD THEY?! Aren't they THINKING?! They are going to HURT their sales because they've alienated the fans, their #1 money maker! (WE buy all the merchendise, extra movie tickets, etc.) And we're not staying quiet about this either. It's been four hours since we've known and there's already 700 posts on this story!
What about those her were planning to attend the November Premiere Screening, What about every one who saw the "November" at the end of the trailer after Mummy, what about all the world release date that had just sent out a week or two ago, what about the Half Blood Prince Video game being released in November (are they going to move that back too?), what about all us loyal Harry Potter fans who have been anxiously counting down the days until November 21st (and now we have to wait an extra 8 months)! Why this late WB, why not earlier this year? WHY WB, WHY?!
WHAT!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! (emotional break down) this cannot be happening! We've gotten an actual trailer for something that's coming out in 2009???? This sucks. I'm going to go into my room and sulk for an hour.....
omg, are you serious?! This is so dumb. It's not like no one is going to see it in November! This is total crap. The only thing concrete we've had all year is that HBP is going to be released in November (the teaser trailer was a flipping joke) and now thats being put off til next summer?! What on Earth! I cannot believe this. WB must have had this in the works for a while, that's why the trailer came out late, but that doesn't make sense either cuz the trailer says November. UGH! And whoever said this is like a joke MuggleNet would do on April Fools is exactly right. This is just so out there that I cannot believe it's real. Wow... Thanks for playing with our heads again WB, this is total crap.
i think some evil person hacked into all the Hp websites just to F@#k with fans :(
My best friend's sister (who is as obsessed as me with HP) just called me and told me. I FREAKED OUT. A few more months would make sense. But a whole YEAR!? By then, my anticipation will be shot. This is messing with all HP fans ACROSS THE WORLD. Just look at how fast everyone is posting! I read some of them from the pages and pages...and pages...of comments and NO ONE respects what the WB people are doing. I hope they're playing a really horrible joke, because if they are then they got us all pretty good. & I'm not boycotting--I still want to see the movie :)
Wow... I'm lost for words. So many wrong things going through my head, I don't know what to say... And I thought this year couldn't get any worse for me. In fact, I'm laughing, I'm that lost. Why, in God's name, would they do such a stupid movie? And ALL OF A SUDDEN!?!?!?!?!?!? MAYBE IF THEY CAME UP WITH THIS 'BRILLIANT' IDEA BACK LAST YEAR AFTER OOTP WAS RELEASED, THEN MAYBE IT WOULDN'T BE SO BAD!!! BUT AFTER ALL THIS ANTICIPATION THEY DECIDED TO DELAY DELAY DELAY DELAYDLEYDLELAHBDWHIOWDBH IOWFHIO FOR NEARLY A YEAR?!?!?!? OMFG OMFG OMFG... DO THEY HAVE ANY IDEA OF HOW MUCH ANTICIPATION THESE MOVIES HAVE??? WB ARE GOING TO BE H A T E D BY A LOT OF PEOPLE FROM THIS DAY ON BOO YOU SUCK WB!!!
What a crappy month. First, breaking dawn sucks terribly, and now this.
What a crappy month. First, breaking dawn sucks terribly, and now this.
Thanks everyone, I've found two different petitions to sign! Gah...I'm so freaking pissed I have no way to describe it in words.
thats it im not seeing the movie. im convinced. i'll go make sure i dont support wb at all
I also had my birthday party planned around Harry Potter! I was going to eat at this awesome restaurant, shop a little in a outdoor mall, and then end the night by seeing Harry Potter. (of course the party would be on the release)... but now I have to think of another idea... I really loathe WB! A note to whoever decided to change the release date: Crucio!! And AVADA KEDAVRA!!!!
We have to make a big impact go to wikipedia and look up "List of assets owned by Time Warner" then boycott as much of that as possible!!!!
WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.....I AM SO ANGERED....WAIT A YEAR...I DONT LIKE THIS AT ALL.....BLOODY HELL....LETS ALL GO TOILET PAPER WB STUDIOS...hehehhe
I'm so mad! I think we should harass Warner Brothers! Show them how much this upsets the fans! Just because they want to make a little more money?! Like they can't make 300 million plus in November!!!! This just pisses me of to no end!!!
hit them in their wallets people. BOYCOTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!
I feel really angry about this! How can they do this! We have waited for such a long time! I think I'm hurt...
you have got to be freaking kidding me!!!! i am pissed because i was looking forward to seeing the new trailer and then the movie this year. why'd they bother even releasing the teaser if they were never gonna show the movie this year? if it is finished they need to show it off not keep it hidden from all of us fans!!! gggrrrr........!!!!!!!!!! !!!!
I am sooo bummed ]:
F*** THIS! These idiots want money, and now they're torturing the fans! Just so they can get their hands on it. These effing greedy people. I'm sorry if I sound really harsh, but seriously. This is a load of bull.
~~~~CALL AND COMPLAIN!!!!~~~~~~ US: 818-954-1919 International 020 7984 5222
This is a joke, right? Right?
they would probably make 700 million plus money...
it's going to fail for them on so many levels, i can prolly handle the wait since ootp sucked so bad, but if they think im seeing this multiple times they can get there heads out of there fat asses.
You know what? WB IS SHOOTING THEMSELVES IN THE FOOT! THEY GOT US MAD, AND WE, THE DIE HARD BOOK FANS, ARE THEIR BIGGEST AUDIANCE! WE have the power to see that this movie makes money or none. they're messing with us
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN'T BLELIVE IT.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN'T BLELIVE IT.
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOO!!! I CAN'T BLELIVE IT.
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