Sixth Harry Potter movie to release in 450 screens

Warner Brothers, the film production company, has decided to have the latest Harry Potter film, due for release here on Thursday, shown in a larger number of screens than the earlier occasion.

The last release, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, was released in 400 screens. This new one, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, will be releasing in 450 screens in India.

The first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, released in early 2000, earned domestic distributors around Rs 2.5 crore, while the fourth, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, released in 2005, fetched domestic distributors close to Rs 5 crore. Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix fetched domestic distributors close to Rs 26 crore; the surge in earnings was because of its release in Hindi and other Indian languages.

Film experts estimate the latest one will fetch domestic distribution of Rs 20 crore. The movie will be released in Hindi, English, Tamil and Telugu across India.The production house is releasing 350 prints of this much-awaited movie.

The studio has tied up with various channels and other media houses to provide saturation coverage. Children’s channels Pogo and Cartoon Network, and movie channel HBO (all owned by the Turner Group) have crafted special programmes and contests around the movie.

For instance, while HBO will air the making of Harry Potter 6, Pogo has been running a 30-minute special show. Warner Brothers has also partnered the leading theatre chain, Imax, for showing Harry Potter on 3D, across their theatres in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

There is good news for gaming lovers, too. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is available on Play Station 2 and PC, PlayStation Portable, a handheld game console, Xbox360, Wii and PS3 consoles. The game is available at Landmark, Planet M and all major retail outlets in India.