By RYAN NAKASHIMA, AP Business Writer 2 hours, 8 minutes ago
LAS VEGAS - With its plan to make two movies from the last installment of the popular "Harry Potter" book series, Warner Bros. is once again conjuring a lucrative box office formula, an analyst said Thursday.
The franchise is well-suited to the approach because the books are so popular and rich in content, media analyst Harold Vogel said.
"They want to milk it for as long as possible," he said. "Why not?"
The studio has collected huge revenue through the strategy, most notably with "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which has grossed more than $3 billion worldwide.
The films were shot all at once, then released from 2001 to 2003 by subsidiary New Line Cinema.
Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc., also greenlighted the 2003 release of "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions" after the sequels were shot at the same time. The "Matrix" franchise has hauled in $1.6 billion globally.
The studio giant announced the two-part rendition of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" would become films seven and eight of the series.
The first five films grossed $4.5 billion worldwide, already making it the largest movie franchise in history. The sixth, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," is set for release in November.
The release dates of the final two movies are expected in late 2010 and summer 2011.
Studio executives contended the decision to split the book into two film was for creative, not financial, reasons.
"Condensing a 750-page book to a 120- or 130-page screenplay is challenging enough," Alan Horn, president of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., said during a presentation at ShoWest, a conference where studios unveil upcoming movie lineups.
"But we wanted to do right by this final, final episode." he said.
Dedicated fans were already chatting furiously on "Harry Potter" fan Web sites about where the first film would end and the second begin: Would it come after the escape on the dragon or the destruction of the first Horcrux?
Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracking firm Media By Numbers, noted that even the least successful in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," made $645 million worldwide after opening last July.
"I think if they could, they would make installments nine, 10 and 11," he said.
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