Last 'Harry Potter' Film To Be Released in 2 Parts

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Last 'Harry Potter' Film To Be Released in 2 Parts
By JOHN FLOWERS
March 13, 2008

Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. Pictures will release its film adaption of the final "Harry Potter" book in two parts, saying doing so is necessary to stay true to the tome.

Part one of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" will open during the holiday season of 2010, with part two to be released the following summer. The first five films in the series have grossed $4.5 billion globally. The sixth movie, based on "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" is due to be released in the U.S. on Nov. 21.

Warner Bros. President Jeff Robinov said "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" is "packed with vital plot points" and that "the best way to do the book, and its many fans, justice is to expand the screen adaptation."

David Yates, who directed last summer's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" and currently helming "Half-Blood Prince" will direct both "Deathly Hallows" films.

The series, which first hit bookshelves in 1997, has hold some 400 million copies worldwide. "Deathly Hallows" was released last year and sold at a record-breaking initial rate.

Write to John Flowers at john.flowers@dowjones.com