Movie News – Happy New Year!

RYAN: With an Auld Lang Syne and all that jazz, I’m looking forward to the new year. Let’s hope ’09 brings big business to the movies.

CAROLINE: I doubt the industry is really worried.

RYAN: Well the movie I’m most anticipating next year, “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” is sparking a bit of a debate about the future of the movie biz.

CAROLINE: How so?

RYAN: Well, the screenwriter of all the HP movies, Steve Kloves, said, “Warner Bros. was worried about the prospects for the last three films in the series, since JK Rowling is no longer driving anticipation for the titles by producing new books.”

CAROLINE: That makes a bit of sense. But I think the movies have all performed so well at the B.O. that no one really needs to worry.

RYAN: That’s what I was thinking. The conflicting story out there suggests that year-end 2008 box office would have bested ’07s if HP 6 had been released in November as originally planned. But we have to wait till July 17 for it now.

CAROLINE: Can you stand waiting for it?

RYAN: Barely. It’ll be good for me and the movie biz all at the same time.

CAROLINE: Apparently movies can’t just open huge anymore, they have to open really huge.

RYAN: How do you mean?

CAROLINE: The second Narnia movie Prince Caspian, did amazingly well at the box office, but still made about $300 million less worldwide than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

RYAN: Right.

CAROLINE: And because of that, Disney has walked away from the third film.

RYAN: That is so rich!

CAROLINE: Times are tough. Let’s hope the new year brings goodness for all.

RYAN: Happy New Year movie lovers!!