In the Harry Potter stories, wizards play chess with life-size, animated pieces.
But when Warner Bros. pushed the release of the next film in the Potter franchise, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," from Nov. 21 to summer 2009, the studio set off a chess game of another sort that's being played out in Hollywood.
In the last few weeks, distributors have shifted several major fall releases -- including the animated 3-D comedy "Bolt," the vampire thriller "Twilight," the James Bond adventure "Quantum of Solace" and the epic romance "Australia" -- to new dates in November, hoping to take advantage of the box-office void created by Harry's departure.
November is one of the biggest months for movie ticket sales outside the summer popcorn season, and its three biggest openings ever were all Harry Potter movies, with weekend hauls ranging from $88 million to $103 million.
The chain reaction was set off Aug. 14 when Warner stunned Potter-heads around the globe with its announcement. The move was aimed at bulking up the studio's 2009 slate -- and thanks to this year's box-office success of "The Dark Knight," Warner can afford a breather.
Chuck Viane, Walt Disney Studios' president of domestic distribution, said he was lunching with other top executives at the Burbank company when the news broke. After checking that afternoon with the studio's computer animation department, which was wrapping up post-production on "Bolt," and theater chain bookers around the country, Disney within hours advanced the film to Nov. 21, the Friday before Thanksgiving, from Nov. 26.
"If someone is going to give you five extra days of great grosses, why not seize that opportunity?" Viane said.
Summit Entertainment, meanwhile, saw a chance to expand its holiday season run for "Twilight," which it believes could launch a lucrative, female-driven franchise based on the bestselling novels.
The next day, Aug. 15, even with "Bolt" having pounced on the Potter date, Summit moved "Twilight" to Nov. 21 from Dec. 12. "Bolt," the story of a TV star dog who thinks he has superpowers, is aimed at family audiences whereas "Twilight," a live-action PG-13 fantasy about a teenage girl who falls in love with a vampire, has a darker tone, so the films are likely to have little overlap.
"Harry Potter is a box-office force that everybody has to work around," said Rob Friedman, co-chairman and chief executive of Summit. "Once the Warner guys decided to move it into 2009, a big vacuum -- and a big opportunity -- was created."
