Warner Brothers announced today that it will stop shipping any new copies of the Harry Potter DVDs, including the not-yet released 8th movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II, on the 29th of December 2011! This does not mean that retailers will immediately run out of the movies, but it does mean that they will eventually run out of their stock on hand, after which they won’t be able to get any more. Of course, this doesn’t mean that the movies will never be available again. This is widely seen as a way for Warner Brothers to increase future demand for the movies. Disney follows a similar method with their “From the Disney Vault” releases—they keep re-releasing the same movies over and over with new packaging (just look at the recent, hugely successful release of The Lion King in 3D).
So, what should the savvy Harry Potter fan do? Run right out and order the Box Set of the Harry Potter Movies (the Blu-Ray box set is available here)! It was available for preorder on Amazon as of October 18th, for shipping in November. It is likely that Warner Bros. will produce some sort of deluxe edition in time for Christmas season 2012, but it’s not guaranteed! If you want to own copies of all the Harry Potter films from 1-8, you should make sure you order them by the end of this year!
