Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

[Dr. No]

[FormerBondFan]

Because this will be the last Harry Potter movie, I think it's best to see it on the opening night. But that's just me though.

[katied]

I just saw the ad for part 1 the other day.. I so am seeing that when it comes out.

[Dr. No]

I think it is going to be very big. I think the last chance to see a new potter in the theater will have families going.

[FormerBondFan]

Next year is the 10 year anniversary for Mr. Potter.

[FormerBondFan]

http://social.entertainment.msn.com/mov ... +++&ref=nf

'Harry Potter' Poster Debuts

Run, Harry, run! 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1'

Posted by Kim Morgan Friday, October 01, 2010 8:10:10 AM



Behold the poster debut for the much-anticipated Part 1 of the last (that's right, last) movie of the beloved "Harry Potter" franchise. This is the seventh and final adventure for Harry Potter, and one that shows just how much Harry Potter has grown up.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" (the film is being released in two parts), involves Harry, Ron and Hermione on a mission to discover and destroy the secret to Voldemort's immortality. That seems a perfect way to end a series: Stop immortality!

But along the way, and without the aid and protection of their teachers (specifically, Professor Dumbledore), Harry Potter becomes a wanted man, as Voldemort has taken control of the Ministry of Magic and Hogwarts. The three friends have to take care of this mess on their own. Will they be able to handle it? Well ... what do you think?

You'll have to wait until Nov. 19 to find out. It's only a little over a month. Until then, enjoy the poster.

[FormerBondFan]

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 62372.html

New 'Potter' Won't Come in 3D
By LAUREN A. E. SCHUKER

In the latest sign of Hollywood studios' growing ambivalence over converting movies into 3D, Warner Bros. on Friday said it canceled its planned 3D release of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I," saying it ran out of time to properly convert the film into a 3D format.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., will now only release the penultimate "Potter" installment on Nov. 19 in a 2D version, as opposed to releasing it in both 2D and 3D.

The film's final installment, however, will appear in 3D when it hits theaters next summer.

After James Cameron's 3D blockbuster "Avatar," which opened last December, became the highest-grossing film of all time, Hollywood studios rushed to produce 3D movies to take advantage of audience enthusiasm for the new medium—and the higher ticket prices it allows theater owners to charge. But that rush also created a divide in the Hollywood community over the best way to produce 3D films—and the quality of 3D needed to satisfy audiences hungry for films in the flashy format.

Earlier in the year, industry champions of 3D, including Dreamworks Animation SKG Inc. Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, criticized Warner Bros. for what they viewed as a sloppy, last-minute conversion of "Clash of the Titans." Despite the criticism, the movie performed well at the box office.

Those critics argued that films like "Clash" would turn audiences against the format because the 3D was of such poor quality.

To release a 3D movie, studios can either "author" a film in 3D, where they produce and shoot it in 3D, or they can convert a 2D film into 3D after it is finished. The former is more expensive and requires significant planning and expertise on the part of the filmmaker, while converting a film after it is finished can cost as little as $5 million.

"Avatar" was authored in 3D, for example.

Even in the wake of "Avatar's" outsized success as a 3D movie, the recent box-office performance of some 2D films over the summer has proved that movies don't need to be in 3D to strike a chord with audiences.

The latest "Twilight" installment hit theaters this past June in 2D format, but it has since taken in almost $700 million world-wide. And Chris Nolan's psychological 2D thriller, "Inception," became one of the biggest box-office hits of the summer. Warner Bros and Mr. Nolan, in fact, briefly considered converting the film into a 3D format, but decided against it because they couldn't achieve results deemed good enough in tests.

In a statement Friday, Warner Bros. said quality issues stood at the forefront of canceling its 3D release of "Potter."

"Despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality," the statement read. "We do not want to disappoint fans who have long anticipated the conclusion of this extraordinary journey."

Director David Yates added that the decision "underscores the fact that Warner Bros. has always put quality first."

[FormerBondFan]

It looks like John Williams is not available for Part II of HP 7.

[FormerBondFan]

I just saw HP 7, and I gotta tell you. It's VERY dark.

[FormerBondFan]

http://www.kcby.com/news/entertainment/109704824.html

'Harry Potter' leaps to $125.1 million debut weekend

By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer

Story Published: Nov 21, 2010 at 11:12 AM PST

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Harry Potter has cast his biggest box-office spell yet with a franchise record $125.1 million domestically over opening weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1" also added $205 million in 54 overseas countries, bringing the film's worldwide total to $330.1 million.

In terms of domestic revenue, "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" came in ahead of the series' best previous debut of $102.7 million for 2005's "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

But factoring in today's higher admission prices, the latest movie had roughly the same size audience as the franchise's best previous draws - "Goblet of Fire" and 2001's "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," which launched the series. "Deathly Hallows" and those two earlier movies each sold around 16 million tickets in their first weekend.

Overseas markets for "Deathly Hallows" were led by a $28 million opening in Great Britain, $21.8 million in Germany, $14.8 million in Australia, $14 million in Japan and $12.3 million in Russia.

The movie audience has grown up along with young wizard Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and his friends Hermione (Emma Watson) and Ron (Rupert Grint). Distributor Warner Bros. reported that 25 percent of the audience for the new movie was between 18 and 34, compared with only 10 percent for "Sorcerer's Stone" nine years ago.

"When we started `Harry Potter,' basically, the audience was driven to theaters by their parents. Today, those same kids are driving to the midnight shows themselves," said Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros.

DreamWorks Animation's "Megamind," the No. 1 movie the previous two weekends, fell to second-place with $16.2 million, raising its three-week total to $109.5 million.

Russell Crowe's thriller "The Next Three Days," the weekend's only other new wide release, debuted weakly at No. 5 with $6.8 million. Crowe plays a college instructor who plots a jail break to free his wife (Elizabeth Banks) after she's convicted of murder.

Playing in 4,125 theaters domestically, "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" averaged an enormous $30,332 a cinema. That compared with a $2,633 average in 2,564 theaters for "The Next Three Days."

The huge opening bodes well for next July's "Deathly Hallows: Part 2," the eighth and final movie based on J.K. Rowling's seven "Harry Potter" novels. The franchise so far has taken in more than $5.5 billion worldwide.

Warner Bros. plans to release "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" in 3-D, which should give it a big box-office boost, since theaters charge a few dollars more to see movies projected in 3-D compared with 2-D.

"This is kind of the warmup to the potentially 3-D supercharged finale, and that could really take these `Potter' numbers to another level," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com.

The studio had hoped to release "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" in 3-D, but the filmmakers ran out of time to convert the film, which was shot in 2-D, for 3-D projection.

"Deathly Hallows: Part 1" landed at No. 6 on the domestic revenue chart for biggest opening weekends, a list headed by 2008's "The Dark Knight" with $158.4 million. It also was this year's second-biggest debut, behind "Iron Man 2," which is No. 5 on the all-time chart with $128.1 million.

With $61.2 million Friday, "Deathly Hallows: Part 1" had the fifth-biggest opening day ever.

The film took in $12.4 million, just over 10 percent of its weekend domestic revenue, in huge-screen IMAX theaters. That broke the previous IMAX record debut of $12.1 million set in March by "Alice in Wonderland."

"Harry Potter" was not able to lift Hollywood's total weekend receipts above last year's. Overall revenue came in at an estimated $197 million, down 24 percent from the same weekend a year ago, when the industry had a one-two punch with debuts of $142.8 million for "The Twilight Saga: New Moon" and $34.1 million for "The Blind Side," according to Hollywood.com.

Hollywood is poised for big business over Thanksgiving, one of its busiest weekends.

Revenues should remain strong for "Harry Potter," while studios are delivering a broad range of newcomers with Disney's animated musical "Tangled," featuring the voice of Mandy Moore; Sony's song-and-dance tale "Burlesque," starring Christina Aguilera and Cher; 20th Century Fox's romance "Love & Other Drugs," with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway: and CBS Films' action thriller "Faster," featuring Dwayne Johnson.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1," $125.1 million.

2. "Megamind," $16.2 million.

3. "Unstoppable," $13.1 million.

4. "Due Date," $9.2 million.

5. "The Next Three Days," $6.8 million.

6. "Morning Glory," $5.2 million.

7. "Skyline," $3.4 million.

8. "Red," $2.5 million.

9. "For Colored Girls," $2.4 million.

10. "Fair Game," $1.5 million.

---

[FormerBondFan]

Is possible that DH2 will go TDK and strike both Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens in the box office a week after its release (July 15, 2011)? Captain America will released on July 22, and Cowboys & Aliens will released the following week. Since Harry Potter is coming to an end, I don't want these two to overshadow DH2.

[FormerBondFan]

If anyone here haven't seen DH1, please do so.

[Kristatos]

If anyone here haven't seen DH1, please do so.

Going on Tuesday evening.

[Dr. No]

we've seen it twice now.

[FormerBondFan]

Again, is possible that DH2 will follow the same path as TDK? I don't want it to be overshadowed by both Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens a week after its release (July 15, 2011).

[Kristatos]

Again, is possible that DH2 will follow the same path as TDK? I don't want it to be overshadowed by both Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens a week after its release (July 15, 2011).

Part 1 isn't perfoming as strongly as I'd hoped. According to Box Office Mojo, it suffered another 60%+ weekend drop-off, and has made less money than any other Potter film had by this point in its run.

[FormerBondFan]

Again, is possible that DH2 will follow the same path as TDK? I don't want it to be overshadowed by both Captain America and Cowboys & Aliens a week after its release (July 15, 2011).

Part 1 isn't perfoming as strongly as I'd hoped. According to Box Office Mojo, it suffered another 60%+ weekend drop-off, and has made less money than any other Potter film had by this point in its run.

This is supposed to a celebration, considering that Potter is at the end of his time on the big screen. This big drop is just not right. If it wasn't for Tangled releasing the week after Part 1's release, Part 1 might probably end up there.

On the other note, it would have been better if Disney released Tangled the week before Part 1's release rather than after. Also, Tangled's budget is over $200 million, and that is suicide for Disney right there.

[Kristatos]

Finally saw it, yay. A stunning return to form after the disappointment of HBP. Can't wait for part 2.

[Kristatos]

Here's my Flixter review on Facebook:

My least favourite of the Harry Potter books becomes my favourite of the films so far. The decision to split the film into two was a good one. The reason that Half-Blood Prince was so disappointing is that it felt rushed and unsatisfying, as if the filmmakers were simply trying to cram as much information into 2½ hours as possible. Here, the story is given room to breathe, and for arguably the first time, real emotion is allowed into a Potter film. The three leads' acting has improved immeasurably, even Emma Watson's, who I had always regarded as the weakest actor of the three. Her performance in her first scene, just uttering the simple word "Oblivio". is guaranteed to bring a tear to the eye. And the film manages to convey a genuine sense of dread.

Alan Moore, in the series of articles on Writing for Comics that he wrote for Fantasy Advertiser magazine in the '80s, talked about the "so what plot". Lord Voldemort is getting more powerful - so what? Harry has to destroy the horcruxes - so what? Well, there's no "so what?" here. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 sets out the stakes admirably, creating the impression that we are witnessing a titanic struggle between freedom and tyranny on a par with World War 2 (an obvious inspiration - witness the 1940s style production design in the Ministry of Magic sequence and the Churchillian speech from Bill Nighy that opens the movie).

I knocked off a half-star for a few minor quibbles, like the fact that Godric's Hollow looks like a theme park version of middle-earth rather than a real 21st century English village (the director reused the Hogsmeade set from the previous films), undercutting the sense of reality that the films have always brought to the scenes in the muggle world, and the distinction between the muggle and wizarding worlds that is a key theme of the series. But this is first-rate filmmaking. With this film, Inception and Toy Story 3, 2010 has been the best year for blockbuster filmmaking that I can remember. It is encouraging to see films with heart and intelligence being so richly rewarded at the box office. Let's hope Hollywood gets the message and gives us more films of this quality and fewer mindless whiz-bangs like the Clash of the Titans remake. ****½ (out of 5)

[Kristatos]

One of my favourite scenes from the movie was a completely wordless one, as Harry and Hermione dance to Nick Cave's O Children as it plays on the radio in their tent when they are on the run from Voldemort. It's a beautiful little scene, all about finding that spark of hope even in the darkest of circumstances, and precisely the sort of thing that the "rushed and unsatisfying" (to quote my own review) HBP would never have found the room for. Anyway, here's the song:

[video][/video]