1. Mediaite
  2. Gossip Cop
  3. Geekosystem
  4. Styleite
  5. SportsGrid
  6. The Mary Sue
  7. The Jane Dough
  8. The Braiser

There's An Apparate For That

Warner Bros. Locking All Harry Potter DVDs in Gringotts Vault

by Jill Pantozzi | 10:57 am, October 25th

Share on Tumblr

We knew Voldemort couldn’t be gone for good. It looks as if he’s wised-up some since he last fight with Harry though. Now his devious plan is to infiltrate Warner Bros. in an effort to make as much money as possible. The company announced yesterday that as of December 29, all Harry Potter DVDs would magically disappear from stores.  

The big move will include Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, which will have just been released for the first time on DVD on November 11 in the U.S. The press release:

Harry Potter, the #1 motion picture franchise of all time, will soon disappear from shelves, as Warner Bros. stops shipping all Harry Potter theatrical film titles (including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows™ – Part 2, and Harry Potter: The Complete 8-Film Collection) as of December 29, 2011 (moratorium does not include digital – Electronic Sell-Through & VOD – or games). The Harry Potter franchise has grossed more than $12.1 billion for Warner Bros. Entertainment – with $7 billion at the worldwide box office for Warner Bros. Pictures and $5.1 billion for Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.

This is a move similar to what Walt Disney has done the last few years, locking their classics “in the Disney vault” and only releasing them for limited times. Obviously limiting availability only makes consumers want them more so I guess it’s a marketing decision that works, although it’s something that’s always frustrated me as a consumer. The 8-disc blu-ray set is also being released on November 11 but will removed or phased out in stores come December 29. I’ve seen a fancy 8-disc set that comes with the Elder Wand being set for release but no official date has been given. It’s safe to say all the films will be re-released individually over time first with their own special or extended editions so unless you’re prepared to break into Gringotts Wizarding Bank and risk all that comes with it, get ready to buy now or sit and wait a while.

What’s your priority when buying movies?

(/Film via Deadline)

TAGS: | | | |


  • The Lewd Ood

    I’d think most folks who wanted the dvds/blu-rays had ample opportunity to get them before now (with the exception of DH pt2, of course), so I think they’ve sold the vast majority of 1-6 they were going to sell by now.  Heck, Sorcerers/ Philosophers Stone came out on disk in what, ’02?

    And I think retailers have probably told WB that the sales have slowed and they don’t need add’l stock.  Best Buy, for instance, had a clearance sale on HP disks yesterday on their site where the blu-rays were going for $7.  They had the 1-5 blu-ray box set (in the travel chest box) on sale for $25.

    My guess is they’ll be uber-sets that’ll go for $30+ a film on blu-ray when they do re-release them, because they’ll need to find some way to incentivize more sales to the millions who already own  the films in one of their original packages.

  • http://twitter.com/LittleMousling Little Mousling

    To be honest, stories like this always make me think, “wait, people still buy physical DVDs? That take up space in your house instead of on your hard drive?”

  • http://twitter.com/MightySquid Kate Falanga

    This kind of move made business sense before the rise of torrents. Now its just stupid. If the make something hard to get legally people are just going to download it illegally.

    The is no such thing as forced scarcity in order to jam up prices in the digital world. Silly business people are silly.

  • Kath

    This kind of annoys me, not because I care for HP, but because I don’t like it as a business move. I want Snow White on DVD, and it’s currently OOP in the UK. I have to wait for the re-release, next year by my reckoning, in order to get it reasonably.

    It’s annoying.

  • Anonymous

    Things like this are why piracy exists. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_7G4SWUX2MCWWXLMYNN347JMIZY Frodo Baggins

    Do digital downloads come with special features?

  • The Lewd Ood

    Yeah, but I wonder just how many people actually torrent whole movies, especially 2.5 hour HD movies.  Don’t get me wrong, I torrent the hell out of Doctor Who and Top Gear because DirecTV refuses to air BBCA in HD, but I still find it to be an incredible hassle if I want to watch the files on my TV via my PS3, and I’m a reasonably tech-savvy dude.

  • Matt Gutting

    Some of us don’t have, or want, computers connected up to our TV.  (Some of us even still watch more stuff live than on videotape, and more on videotape than on DVD.

  • http://twitter.com/acidragdoll Bel

    Most people just stream them.

  • Kath

    What’s your TV got to do with it? You can buy receivers for PCs/laptops, and you can watch things on your monitor as you normally would.

  • http://twitter.com/steviferg stevi ferg

    I’ve been holding off on buying some of them, because I was hoping for a nice box set with lots of special features (a la LOTR Extended box set). Apparently this set only includes the bare bones cheap features of each movie and nothing new (aside from movie #8). So now I have to decide if it’s worth it for me to own the dvds at all. Already got the files anyway. These days, consumers need incentive to buy physical copies of movies. And threatening to lock it up for 10 years does not equal incentive.

  • http://twitter.com/LittleMousling Little Mousling

    Wait, people still have TVs?

  • http://twitter.com/LittleMousling Little Mousling

    No, but they’re pretty much all over the web the second the DVD ships. (Also, I’m just not big on special features. I’d rather read my flist than watch a commentary track. YMMV.)

  • http://twitter.com/MightySquid Kate Falanga

    You lost me at videotape :P 

    For me it comes down to storage or lack there of. Not everyone has giant houses where you can store 300 DVDs/Tapes/Whatever. I live in an apartment. Where am I going to put things? 

    Honestly it was the lack of shelf space availability that brought me to digital. I didn’t lose the TV. I consume video via Tivo (which has built in Amazon on Demand and Netflix), XBOX (which has Netflix/Movie Rentals/Hulu) and also Apple TV. Plenty of ways to legally consume videos easily on my TV  without the physical storage problem. 

  • http://twitter.com/EpicPseudonym K.K.

    I agree. I don’t buy DVDs unless they have bonus features. It’s just not worth it. I was going to splurge on the fancy 8 pack, but I won’t be out of college for another year. WB isn’t getting my money. I’ll just keep watching ABC Family marathons and buy the books I don’t have yet instead.

  • Anonymous

    tiny.cc/qcfnd

  • http://twitter.com/LAU_Y Yan

    No! They can’t do that!?! I haven’t saved up enough money to buy HP 1-8 on DVD/Blu-ray. That’s just mean :-(

  • Laura Mullen

    What a silly idea on their part. “Hey everyone! We know you’d spend money on this if we gave you the chance, but instead we’re going to take it off the shelves. I guess you’ll have to pirate it instead”

  • Anonymous
  • John Wao

    Wow has there ever been a more transparent attempt by a studio to goad people into buying their movies?

    Anyone who believes they won’t be able to buy those HP movies after Dec 29th, I have some ocean front property in Kansas I’d like to sell you real cheap.

  • http://twitter.com/CorinaBecker Corina Lynn Becker

    yeah, I’ve been holding out for a nice big box bluray set, with special features and everything. 

    Usually stuff is too expensive, but I like to support the creators as much as possible, when I can. And I don’t like downloads, although I use them from time to time, because I’m scared that if I buy a download, and my computer crashes, I’ll have to buy it again!!! Which is why if I really like a movie or game, I’ll buy a hard copy of it. Instant back-up!!!

  • John Wao

    via wikipedia:

    “The following films are currently considered to be in the cycle of movies which are subject to the rules of the Disney Vault.

    * Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
    * Pinocchio (1940)
    * Fantasia (1940)
    * Dumbo (1941)
    * Bambi (1942)
    * Cinderella (1950)
    * Peter Pan (1953)
    * Lady and the Tramp (1955)
    * Sleeping Beauty (1959)
    * 101 Dalmatians (1961)
    * The Jungle Book (1967)
    * The Little Mermaid (1989)
    * Beauty and the Beast (1991)
    * The Lion King (1994) ”

    Guess which ones are available on amazon.com on either dvd or blu ray? All of them. I know what a shock. 

  • Anonymous
  • Anonymous

    tiny.cc/qcfnd