While the movie is set to be released in just a few weeks, there is more talk today regarding the release of the DVD for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Last week, we at TLC reported on a possible holiday release for the disc in December; the LA Times has a new article online that notes " the DVD will be released during the heavy gift-buying holiday season." At the link you can also see a new photo of Director David Yates with actor Jim Broadbent (Prof. Slughorn).
The bulk of the LA Times piece does focus on the slump in sales of DVD overall, as well as the declining sales of Harry Potter DVD. The Times also makes mention of the huge budget being used to promote the film. Quotage:
Though the "Potter" movies have historically been huge DVD sellers,
each successive sequel has sold far fewer units than its predecessor.
Sales of the last release were off 15% in the first eight weeks
compared with sales of the first film during the same time span. Even a
small decline in DVD sales is a challenge for expensive movies because
it raises the bar to profitability that much higher.
And the bar
for Harry Potter is higher than ever. Warner Bros. spent $250 million
to produce "Half-Blood Prince" and will invest $155 million to market
and distribute the movie, according to people familiar with the
situation.
Speaking with WB President Alan Horn, the paper reads: "
Because DVD and ancillary sales are driven by how well a film performs
at the box office, Warner Bros. is focused on making sure that theaters
will be filled with moviegoers. As the "Potter" franchise ages,
Horn says the biggest marketing challenge is assuring moviegoers that
they'll be seeing something new. "When you're doing the sixth version of a movie, how do you have fans not get tired of that?" the Warner Bros. president said.
"To keep it fresh, we used all these wonderful moments in the movie --
the trials and tribulations of growing up, these new environments and
the urgency of Harry trying to discover more information about who he
is and what led to his parents' death," said Sue Kroll, Warner Bros.
president of worldwide marketing. To let audiences know that
"Half-Blood Prince" is distinct, Kroll said, the marketing campaign was
designed to feel "more contemporary, a little bit more in your face."
Its hard to not buy the DVD’s when they initially come out eventhough I know they will eventually come out with a box set. Do the days until the movie seem to be going by slower to anyone else?
They should put really cool things in the DVD if they want more money. Like a sneak peek into DH or a lot of behind-the-scenes things from HBP. Things that would make us WANT the dvd really badly. I’ll get it no matter what, but I’m just saying that they should put in really awesome features that’ll catch other peoples’ attention.
that sucks! it says that each harry potter DVD has sold “far fewer units than its predecessor”! that’s upsetting and NO WAY WE ARELETTINGTHATHAPPEN!! people, buy the harry potter 6 DVD!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and hopefully people’ll will get them for Christmas or something and that it’ll include special features and stuff! :)
I have to say that not a lot of people are going to go out and buy a lot of Harry Potter DVDs if they each individually cost $20…especially with the economy the way it is. Also, the DVDs have really been SUCKY lately. It is no surprise that the first DVD has the biggest overall sale since that DVD’s features were unique and grand, unlike the sequel DVDs.
Of course, those of us who are diehards will buy the dvd regardless but if they really care about the sales they’ll make sure the dvd is worth having. Part of the joy of owning a dvd is watching the extras and the HP dvds have been sorely lacking in the extras department.
Well it only makes sense that they should include wonderful and a ton of special features if they want HBP dvds to sell, but they don’t always do things that make sense.
If the film was postponed to be theatrically released for 9 months, that SHOULD have given the filmmakers plenty of time to put together A LOT of special features and have the dvd ready for the holidays. I think it makes perfect sense. I can’t wait till next month to see it finally!
I agree, Dolemite. Yes, we now anticipated the film release that much more, but it also really angered a lot of people. True fans will go and see it no matter when it’s released, but for people who aren’t as into it as we all are might have been turned away by the “now it’s out…now it’s not…now it’s the 17th, now it’s the 15th”. Set the date, leave it alone and people will come to see it! I know I can’t wait!!!
They went into Gladrags Wizardwear to buy a present for Dobby, where they had fun selecting the most lurid socks they could find, including a pair patterned with flashing gold and silver stars, and another that screamed loudly when they became too smelly.
I think WB really messed up by not releasing last November.