‘Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince’: Thanksgiving 2008

Harry Potter fans have finally received one of the big announcements they’ve been patiently waiting for. While the release date for the 7th Harry Potter book remains a mystery, release dates for the 5th and 6th Harry Potter movies have been announced.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, the fifth installment in the massively popular franchise, will find its way to the theatres sometime in July 2007. The trade publication, The Hollywood Reporter has reported that the The Order of the Phoenix will be followed up with Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on November 21st, 2008, though it’s still to early to buy advance tickets.

Reuters reports that the November 21st release date presents some interesting problems for Warner Brothers. “Now, Warner Bros. just needs to hire a director and confirm the cast. The "Prince" date will mark a return to the Thanksgiving period for the sorcerer series. Of the four "Potter" films to date, only the third installment, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," has been released during the summer.”

Paramount Pictures has also announced they plan to release a movie in November 2008, though two weeks before the undoubted blockbuster appears. The sequel to Madagascar, the popular DreamWorks animation film, will see its theatrical release come on November 7th, 2008, giving it two weeks to crack a Harry Potter-less theatrical scene. According to MSNBC, “Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith and David Schwimmer are set to reprise their roles as the main characters of the animated franchise.”

Warner Bros. made the Harry Potter announcement as part of a bigger announcement of theatrical releases. The Independence Day (July 4) theatrical introduction form Warner Bros will see Mandy Moore star in the romantic comedy License to Wed. The release is widely seen as a counter-programming move to the Paramount/DreamWorks production of The Transformers. The Michael Bay Transformers film is expected to come out the same weekend, opening on July 4. The other big film announcement from Warner Bros has Will Smith coming back to the big screen on November 21, 2007, in the sci-fi film I Am Legend.

The entire series of Harry Potter books that J.K. Rowling has authored, include: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The three remaining volumes that have yet to become films are: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and the new 7th untitled finale. So far, the four Harry Potter films have grossed $1.1 billion dollars in the US, placing them second only behind the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

[Additional Sources: Hollywood Reporter, Reuters, MSNBC, IMDb]