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How Long Will the Harry Potter Brand Last?

Emily Co — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 00:15:40 PDT

Now that the final movie is out, Warner Brothers will have a tough time figuring out how to further monetize its Harry Potter empire, which currently includes paraphernalia, video games, and a theme park in Orlando. The franchise has been quite profitable for the firm so far, and the company has earned $1 billion in profits.

In an attempt to lengthen the life of these lucrative wizarding businesses, the firm is planning on rolling out theme parks around the world and possible more online ventures and video games.

It's kind of hard to imagine that the interest and fervor will die down, seeing as how Harry Potter has been such a phenomenon and the story has wormed its way into the hearts of millions. What do you think - how long will the Harry Potter brand last after the final movie?

Facebook Gets Warner Bros. Streaming Rights

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:12:00 PST

Watch out Netflix, there's a new streaming site in town, and it already has upwards of 600 million users. This morning, Warner Bros. announced a new partnership with Facebook that will allow users to rent, or even buy, digital titles to stream over the social network from within fan pages. While there's only one title available now - The Dark Knight - the goal is to release more digital rentals in the coming months.

A movie will cost just 30 Facebook credits (or $3), and users have 48 hours to stream it. You can even pause and come back to it at a later time within that two-day window. You'll have access to your news stream while you're watching, so you can post status updates to let your friends know what you're up to. Live updating during a movie? Let's just hope this doesn't become another reason people unfriend.

Link Time! Seth Rogen and Michelle Williams Ready to "Waltz"

BuzzSugar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:30:40 PST

Michelle Williams and Seth Rogen are rumored to get romantic for Take This Waltz - Deadline Hollywood
Former Bachelor Jason Mesnick to marry Molly Malaney on ABC - TV Watch
Brittany Murphy's husband is blaming Warner Bros. for her death - The Daily Beast
Check out this goofy video from the Macgruber set - TV Squad
Mel Gibson in talks for the thriller Cold Warrior - Cinematical
Joe Dirt is getting an animated series on TBS - News Briefs
The Grammys: 40 iconic missteps - BellaSugar
FOX greenlights comedy pilot from Ron Howard - Inside TV
The 15 biggest breakout films of Sundance - Moviefone
I can't wait for this Lost issue of Entertainment Weekly! - PopWatch

Netflix Enforcing 28-Day Wait Period For Warner Bros. Movies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 10:30:41 PST

You know when you want to watch a new movie on Netflix, and you wait (and wait) for it to arrive? Being an in-demand film is one thing, but now the company has struck a deal with Warner Bros that means an even longer period before that red envelope arrives. The two groups have arranged a 28-day lag time between the studio's releases and when they'll be made available to Netflix customers. That means when future hot movies like Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hit DVD, you'll have to be patient.

This news makes me groan, and I'm concerned that other big-name studios will follow suit. Ultimately, if consumers really want to see a Warner Bros film right away, they'll just go somewhere else (or even buy a copy), so I'm curious to see how it affects Netflix as a company.

What do you make of this news? Will you quit Netflix if you have to deal with set release periods?

Will You Wait Two Extra Weeks to See Harry Potter in IMAX?

BuzzSugar — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 12:30:09 PDT

Don't freak out - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is still scheduled to open nationwide on July 14, but for two weeks the only option will be to see the movie on your normal movie screens (with the exception of two theaters: one in New York and one in Los Angeles). Starting July 29, the movie will be available on IMAX screens nationwide.

Why the delay? Apparently it's a result of "the decision by Warner Bros. to push Potter from its originally scheduled November 2008 opening. The new July opening overlaps with Imax's month-long window dedicated to Paramount's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." The delay has some analysts worried that ticket sales will suffer. But then again, the movie "contains 12 minutes of 3-D footage that moviegoers can experience only through IMAX," so there will probably be plenty of folks who go to the theaters twice: once on opening weekend and a second time to experience the movie in IMAX.

What do you think? Will you wait the two weeks for the IMAX experience? Or are you going to see Potter opening weekend no matter what?

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Next Resurrection of an Old Cartoon: Yogi Bear

BuzzSugar — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:44:59 PDT

Ah, the latest old cartoon character to be swiped from the past: Yogi Bear. Warner Bros. is planning a feature film for Yogi Bear and Boo Boo with a mixture of live-action and CGI characters (like last year's Alvin and the Chipmunks movie). The Hollywood Reporter has more info, though no specific plot details:

Much of the movie will be live-action, but Yogi Bear and sidekick Boo Boo will be done in CG. . . Yogi's exploits take place in Jellystone Park, where he and Boo Boo get into good-natured mischief and must elude their nemesis, Ranger Smith.

With remakes and things like this, my question is always the same: Why? It's nice that Yogi and Boo Boo were relevant and interesting to young audiences for so many years (Yogi got his own show in 1961), but this recycling of old characters is so tiresome by now. I do find myself wondering, however, who they'll get to voice Yogi. Along with borrowing characters from the past, using celebrity voices is now the standard. Who do you think will bring Yogi to life?

Source

The Dark Knight to Get Another Round in Theaters, January '09

BuzzSugar — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 12:31:31 PDT

Even though The Dark Knight has gone above and beyond the line of duty at the box office, earning an estimated $512 million domestically, Warner Bros. has announced it will get a re-release in January 2009. The Hollywood Reporter notes:

Warner Bros. domestic distribution president Dan Fellman acknowledged ongoing talks with IMAX execs over the prospect of restoring the Christian Bale starrer to some giant-screen venues in January. It's uncertain if Dark Knight also will reappear in conventional venues at that point.

January, eh? Also known as: Oscar season!

So, what do you think? Over-hyped and political? Or yay? The DVD will already be out in December, though I still haven't seen The Dark Knight in an IMAX theater as many times as I'd like, so this might be fun come the new year. Also, a re-release could certainly help the movie beat Titanic as the biggest earner ever.

Photos courtesy of Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. Hoping to Fast-Track the SATC Sequel

BuzzSugar — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 10:35:02 PDT

There was plenty of sequel chatter immediately following the major box office success of the Sex and the City movie, but now certain head honchos are confirming that there is "a lot of energy behind doing another SATC movie." According to EW, "a sequel to the Sex and the City movie is in the early stages of development."

HBO's president of programming group, Michael Lombardo, mentioned that they're "really heartened by the fans' enthusiasm," and a source confirmed that Warner Bros. hopes to fast-track the project, though there is still no deal and no script. In fact, EW notes that "the lead actresses involved are taking a cautious attitude towards another film, not wanting to rush a sequel and risk disappointing their loyal fans."

Tons of you have voted that you'd love to see a SATC sequel, though I have to wonder, what could this sequel be about? What would you like to see in a sequel? Babies? New non-white assistants? Even bigger shoe closets? Sound off below.

Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema

Warner Brothers to Offer Movies Earlier Online

GeekSugar — Thu, 01 May 2008 08:00:00 PDT

Don't get me wrong, I love being able to see a movie I missed in theaters as soon as it becomes available on DVD - don't we all? But in all honesty, it really doesn't bother me if I want to watch it on my cable pay-per-view service and wait a few months after the DVD release. Well according to The New York Times, Warner Brothers will now be offering video-on-demand systems on the same day they are released as DVDs.

Therefore movies will now become available a heck of a lot faster to users of online rental services like Apple TV, Comcast, Amazon and iTunes movie rentals. Warner Bros. is hoping that this new change will decrease the costs of manufacturing and distributing DVDs.

It's Official: Final Harry Potter Book to Be Two Movies

BuzzSugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:30:29 PDT

It was a rumor before, and now it's confirmed: the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is to be made into two separate films: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. The films are set to be released in November 2010 and May 2011.

The movies will be shot back-to-back and will be directed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince director David Yates.

Apparently, "adapting the novel would have resulted in truncating large swaths of it or making an extra-long feature in order to fit everything in. The studio found itself in a situation similar to Quentin Tarantino with Kill Bill, where splitting one long movie in two worked best creatively." Also, you know, Potter movies are a ginormous money-makers for Warner Brothers so . . . there's that.

What do you think about this news? And should the two movies have different titles than simply Part 1 and Part 2? What would you title them?