Harry Potter films to disappear from store shelves December 29!

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/25/11 at 1:17pm

As of Dec. 29, no more "Harry Potter" theatrical film titles (including Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection) will be shipped to stores. They will not be avaible again for quite some time, which is similar to Disney putting its classics back in the vault. I think Warner Bros. is making a mistake. I think if they are going to do this, they should AT LEAST wait till after Easter or the Academy Awards. "Deathly Hallows Part 2" is getting a lot of buzz for award shows. What do you all think about this?
'Harry Potter' films disappearing from stores soon after Dec. 29!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/25/11 at 2:11pm

And this news is supposed to upset me?

Updated On: 10/25/11 at 02:11 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/25/11 at 4:27pm

Considering Deathly Hallows Part 2 isn't even being released on DVD or BD until November 11, a window of six weeks seems really small. I hope they get the sales they want on that one.

They may think they're following Disney's model, but even Disney doesn't release a title for that short of a time.

[romantico]

Posted: 10/25/11 at 4:47pm

What that article doesn't tell you is that Warner's is planning a massive box set for 2012.

http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#102411b

First of all, Warner Home Video has officially announced that they're placing Harry Potter on moratorium on 12/29. All DVDs, Blu-rays and box sets will stop shipping to retailers as of that date. That includes Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and the Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection. The reason? The studio is planning a massive Complete Harry Potter re-issue in late 2012, and is trying to pump up demand for it. As we reported on 10/3, the studio has revealed the following...

"Hard-core Potter fans will be pleased to know that 2011 is not the end of the Harry Potter film franchise on DVD and Blu-ray. Warner Home Video plans to release a comprehensive Harry Potter film collection, with even more extras and collectible premiums in 2012. More details about the collection will be available at a later date."

[tazber]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 12:24pm

If you want to grab them before they go away WB is having an amazing sale.

All HP BDs under $10.00

DVDs are $4.25 each.

Link

Updated On: 10/26/11 at 12:24 PM

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 12:30pm

The thing is, this isn't going to work in Warners favor. The market isn't like it was 25 years ago when if you missed out, that's it. Your S.O.L. For 7 years unless you find one at a flea market or garage sale and pay $200 for it. Warner can stop shipping and manufacturing these discs but they've made 500x more copies than Disney ever made on VHS since the costs are so low. That means you'll still see copies on eBay, amazon etc. For under $20 until they rerelease them. And in the meantime, Warner is going to miss out on the sales they would have gotten when people buy them from other sources.

[tazber]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 12:39pm

I'm sure they conducted some kind of survey to determine if the scarcity model would be profitable in the long run.

The thing about HP is that due to the books it will always have new fans. Also, you can bet that the re-releases will come WITH EXTRA FOOTAGE AND BRAND NEW DOCUMENTARIES NEVER BEFORE SEEN!!!!.

And of course by the time of the first major re-release it will probably debut on a new format (streaming? holographic imaging? who knows?)

I have all the Disney features on DVD, but those are some of the few titles I upgrade to BD for. You can't beat the picture, especially for the older movies.

While I wouldn't upgrade for HP, I'm sure many people will.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 1:10pm

I issue is that I own the previous titles already (with the exception of Deathly Hallows Part 1, which I'm going to buy on the WB sale---thanks, Taz!) ... so when they come out with a box set next year, it sounds to me like they won't be offering individual films anymore. That's the part that I question. You'll only be able to by Deathly Hallows Part 2, as an individual title, for 6 weeks. I wonder if it will pay off.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 1:14pm

I'm told next year Warner will offer a Deathly Hallows "combo" set of just the two films, so that's what I'm holding out for. I got them all on Bluray last black friday when they were all $5 each at Wal-Mart (or Target, I forget).

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 1:18pm

Well, $9 on this current BD sale will be hard to beat, even if it's doubled to $18 for a combo set! I'll keep my eye out for Part 2 during the holiday (six week) window, and hopefully find it cheap.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 6:04pm

Posted this afternoon from Digitalbits.com -


"All right, I've had the chance to talk this afternoon with Jeff Baker - the Executive VP and General Manager for Theatrical Catalog at Warner Home Video - about the newly-announced Harry Potter BD/DVD moratorium. Obviously, WHV expects that the peak consumer demand for these films is going to spike with the 11/11 BD and DVD release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, and that it will continue through the holidays and the end of the year. The moratorium will start on 12/29, but even though all existing Blu-ray and DVD releases of the Potter films will no longer be shipped to retailers after that date, the studio still expects that enough existing inventory will remain to meet any lingering demand for the titles until well into 2012. It hasn't yet been decided exactly when the moratorium will end, but Baker told me that it shouldn't be longer then 12 to 18 months. So it could end in late 2012 or early 2013. At that point, all of the product that's already been released will return to stores, and the studio will release the much-anticipated Ultimate Collector's Editions of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 on Blu-ray and DVD. So those of you who have been collecting the UCEs can rest easy - you will get the last two films as UCE sets eventually as well. In addition, at that time Warner Home Video will also release additional, new Harry Potter Blu-ray and DVD product with substantial new features. (Baker wasn't ready to talk details on this obviously, but it will probably include some kind of new super-deluxe BD and DVD box set of all the films with newly-produced content, among other SKUs.) And of course, the idea will be to make the Harry Potter re-introduction a major "event" release for fans and retailers.

The upshot is, this moratorium isn't of the Disney variety (where films go away for 5-10 years at a time) and those of you who are buying the UCEs instead of the more basic movie editions CAN indeed expect UCEs of the final two films when the moratorium ends. So there you go. Hopefully, that answers the most pressing questions and alleviates any concerns."



So.....really they're just trying to bump up hype for the films to get rid of the hundreds of thousands of leftover discs they have before putting the new ones out in a year or so.
Updated On: 10/26/11 at 06:04 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/26/11 at 7:13pm

Just saw this on DigitalBits. Glad you posted it, Jordan!

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 10/27/11 at 4:39pm

What Jordan wrote was mentioned on Entertainment Weekly:


'Harry Potter' home-video exile won't last long, says Warner Bros.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/28/11 at 10:13pm

I knew they were going to do a big box set release. I bought the 1st 2 movies and the Deathly Hallows Pt 1 (I couldn't see it in a theater). Can't wait for 2012. I did the same with Lord of the Rings and purchased the extended versions.

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/29/11 at 9:45am

I guess this kind of marketing will still work, but my first thought was that all of these movies are available, albeit illegally, at the click of a mouse. People are saving them to hard drives and watching them whenever they want. The great DVD grab isn't what it used to be.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/29/11 at 10:13am

JG2---that's fine for people who don't care about quality and are fine with a seriously crunched compression. If you're a tech-head "vidiot" like me with a big TV, you want a BD-quality for your collection, especially for action-adventure-fantasy films like these. That's not anything you can download yet, unless you've got a spare 52 gigs per movie.

Updated On: 10/29/11 at 10:13 AM

[JerseyGirl2]

Posted: 10/29/11 at 10:39am

That's true. We still live in the stone ages with our tube tvs. lol. My standard DVDs are all I can handle.

[Wildcard]

Posted: 10/31/11 at 1:55pm

I'm more annoyed that the Deathly Hallows Parts 1 & 2 3D Blu-Rays are exclusive to Sony products in the US. I guess I'll be buying mine from the UK.