The Associated Press reports that Warner Brothers has announced its intentions to move up the opening of the next Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) to Wednesday, July 15 – two days earlier than its previous release date.
Rumors are also circulating that Paramount intends to break the new Star Trek movie on Thursday, May 7th at 7pm rather than holding out for a midnight premier in the wee hours of the 8th.
The moves are seen as last-minute positioning tactics to try and eek out extra box office dollars during the first weekend of what is shaping up to be a very hotly contested summer at the movie theater. Unlike previous years, no “blockbuster” is expected to last more than two weeks at the top of the box office charts, although the premature release of the new Wolverine Origins movie (leaked to the Internet a few weeks ago) may help Trek’s second and third week draws.
For marketers, all of this increased churn in the movie theater will, in all likelihood, accelerate the “depreciation” of movie-related promotions in stores and online.
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