You heard it right sister, the new Harry Potter film has been pushed back from November to Summer '09. Usually when a studio shift the release date of a film it does not bode well for the project. But this doesn't seem to be the case here. Take a look at what top WB honcho Alan Horn had to say in a press release:
"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.... 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.... [Half-Blood Prince] perfectly fills the gap for a major tent-pole release for mid-summer."
What do we think this means. Well, it sure doesn't sound like WB have lost confidence in the film, in fact the opposite. This move shows they are very confident that Harry Potter will be a big money maker. The writer's strike has left next summer with a mixed bag of not-so-big-name titles, so Warners want to capitalize on this.
Also, aside from the excellent performance of 'The Dark Knight' WB have had weak performances from films which have not being part of their two main franchises 'Batman' and 'Harry Potter'. With 'Speed Racer' being an unceremonious flop this leaves WB trailing behind Paramount, who had 'Inidana Jones' and 'Iron Man' under their belt, for the summer crown of biggest money makers.
By shifting a big money maker to next year it could be a strategic financial decision to strengthen next year's numbers.
Too much thinking about money, need to lie down now.
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