Kiss 2008 goodbye, Mr. Potter.
Time Warner's (NYSE: TWX) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince -- the sixth installment in the popular movie series -- won't be hitting a multiplex near you come November, as originally planned.
The young wizard will be donning his invisibility cloak and reappearing next summer in time for a July 17 release. Time Warner has good reasons for trading Thanksgiving holiday theater outings for summery escapes from the heat.
The holiday slate was already crowded with kid magnets, and Potter's original Nov. 21 release date was wedged between a pair of computer-animated flicks from DreamWorks Animation (NYSE: DWA) and Disney (NYSE: DIS), respectively. The Potter series may skew older, but why chance it when summer is more conducive to popcorn-munching blockbusters?
A mid-July debut is also particularly appealing. That's when Time Warner put out The Dark Knight, the Batman action flick that broke box office records last month.
The move will ultimately impact investors as much as it inconveniences impatient Potter fans -- not much, honestly.
For starters, the move is good news for both DreamWorks Animation and Disney. There will be one less blockbuster to battle against over the holidays.
On the cautionary side, Time Warner isn't the only company that may feel the near-term pinch. IMAX (Nasdaq: IMAX) was betting that its exhibitors would have a great November and December with its spruced-up version of the film. Book publisher Scholastic (Nasdaq: SCHL) was probably counting on renewed interest in the series with the movie in theaters to sell more Potter books as holiday gifts.
Time Warner, IMAX, and Scholastic will naturally make that up -- and then some, potentially -- next summer. They may even overcome the holiday void. IMAX will simply milk its Madagascar 2: The Imax Experience a little longer. Scholastic will find other books to push.
Time Warner had just better hope that the movie is good enough to be worth the wait. It doesn't want to disappoint Potter fans -- and investors -- who have to give up on the near-term gratification.
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