Mediating the Stories of the Muggle and Wizarding Worlds

Promotional Materials 2: Theatrical Films

2. Release of the Harry Potter Films in Theatre

This page features items directly related to the promotion of Harry Potter films being released in theatres. It includes:

  • Press Kits – both paper and digital
  • Production Notes
  • Banners and posters
  • Flyers, brochures, and other promotional print items
  • Pins/badges and other visual promos
  • Press events
  • Premieres

In some cases, such as with press kits, detailed information is found on other pages. Summary information appears here to create an all-in-one page for doing a mini-case study in marketing related to each Harry Potter film.

Internet Movie Data Base – Posters, Trailers, Photographs

The following links are to the Internet Movie Data Base home page for each film. IMDB offers a wealth of information on the film production and promotion. Here I would draw special attention to the links at the bottom of the home page. There is a section called “Photos & Videos” that includes photo gallery (typically both from the film and from the premieres), trailers and videos, and posters. Those will be especially relevant to promotion of the theatrical release of that film.

  1. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s [Philosopher’s] Stone
  2. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
  3. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
  4. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  5. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
  6. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
  7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Film split into two parts: Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Deathly Hallows Part 2.

Press Kits

The above press kits are in scale. The first two are paper press kits, with two-pocket folders, production notes, and other items. The “Chamber of Secrets” press kit also contains a CD-ROM press kit disc with photos, notes, etc. Starting with “Prisoner of Azkaban,” only digital press kits were made available. Some came with printed and bound production note booklets; all had a CD-ROM with press photographs, cast and crew notes, and other features. For details on contents of each film’s press kit, see the Press Kit page.

Premieres and Release Dates

For a comprehensive list of premieres and releases by country, see the link for Release Dates at the bottom of the (IMDB) page for each film. (The links below go to the Release Dates pages.)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

  • UK – November 4, 2001
  • US – November 14, 2001

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

  • UK – November 3, 2002
  • US – November 14, 2002

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

  • UK – May 31, 2004
  • US – June 4, 2004

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

  • UK – November 6, 2005
  • US – November 12, 2005 (New York)

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

  • Japan – June 28, 2007
  • UK – July 3, 2007
  • US – July 8, 2007 (Los Angeles)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

  • UK – July 7, 2011 (London)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Premiere Party "Arrival" Pass

Film-By-Film Promotional Materials and Items

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s [Philosopher’s] Stone

Film production notes for Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s/Philosopher’s Stone are available from Cinema.com.

The pin of Harry Potter’s name, with the classic lightning-bolt “P” shown above, was issued in 2000 by Warner Brothers to promote the first film in the Harry Potter series. These days – a decade after the first film was released – this pin is only rarely found on eBay.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone ~ AOL Movie and Video Game Promo Disc

The AOL promo disc was issued in the UK and uses the “Philosopher’s Stone” title version, which is found everywhere except the US. The CD-ROM was stored in a cardstock case, and included an insert with both instructions for AOL internet service sign-up and details on the Harry Potter features. The CD-ROM is noted as copyright 2001, and the artwork used is from animated versions of Harry Potter characters. Here are the special features:

Screensaver - 1

Videogame Screenshots - 8 each for each game platform version: Game Boy Advance, Game Boy Color, PC, and PlayStation

Videos - 2 game trailers

Wallpaper - 6 wallpapers, each in 6 different sizes ranging from 640×480 to 1280×1024, and showing two views (front and side) of the character:

  • Hagrid
  • Harry (casting a spell)
  • Harry (casting a spell)
  • Harry (checking out his new robes)
  • Dumbledore
  • Ron

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ~ Theatre Banner

This US version of the vinyl theatre banner was 4 feet wide x 8 feet tall – which is exceptionally large for a basic banner. Most often, they are 4 feet x 6 feet and reproductions are 3 feet x 5 feet. If I remember correctly, the slogan “Let the Magic Begin” (or something similar) appears in other places, such as on the first installment in the Ultimate Edition DVD series special features on “Creating the World of Harry Potter.”

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ~ Thai Theatre Banners

This particular set of three banners came from Thailand. As with most of the Thai banners I have seen, these are well constructed and printed with vivid colors on what is either a very thick paper which has some sort of protective coating or a light vinyl. (Sometimes it is just hard to tell … plus I’m not an expert on forms of paper and vinyl for printing.) These banners are 4 feet wide x 6 feet tall.

I have on very rare occasions seen a fourth companion English-language poster/banner. It uses the same overall design features (snakes carved in stone, some characters and items in the foreground – others in the background) and is printed in dark emerald green colors. It features Draco Malfoy in the front (in his Quidditch uniform and holding his Nimbus 2000), with Lucius Malfoy and Professor Snape in the near background, and small images of Crabbe and Goyle in the far background.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Nothing to add at this time.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Oversized Promo Cards ~ #1 of 2

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire ~ Oversized Promo Cards ~ #2 of 2

Description. This is a very unusual set of 10 promotional cards for the film release of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. These are oversized, 6″ x 8.25″, stored in a glossy black paper folder that has silver foil work on the front for the title and copyright information. Each card front and back features different composites and combinations of the 4 Triwizard Tournament champions and/or Ron and Hermione. The back of each card includes details of the film’s release, distributor, director, and screenwriter; as well as a one-paragraph summary of the plot. (See below the section on Rarity for the text that appears on the back of the cards.) The portfolio/folder is a type of glossy paper that seems to hold and show every fingerprint and smudge, unfortunately, so if you do happen to find a set, the folder is not likely to be in pristine condition.

Rarity. There are two ways in which this is set is rare. First, the set is very hard to find. The film was released in 2005, and in past few years, I can only recall seeing this set on eBay a few times – and not anytime recently. Second, as these are apparently promo/pre-release, some of the character combinations vary somewhat from the final poster versions available on eBay – perhaps a different combination of characters than expected, or using a different photograph, or flipping the perspective.

Release Date … November 2005

Distributor … Warner Bros.

Director … Mike Newell

Screenwriter … Steven Kloves

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The pivotal fourth novel in the seven part tale of Harry Potter’s training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the international Quidditch cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush maybe do more than dream. He wants to find out about the mysterious event that’s supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other reival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal, even by wizarding standards. And in his case, different can be deadly.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Film production notes for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (57 pages) are available from VisualHollywood.com.

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ "Gatefold" Brochure

 

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ~ Promotional Postcards

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Film production notes for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (43 pages) are available from VisualHollywood.com.

 

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince ~ Promotional Postcards

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Film production notes for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (53 pages) are available from WarnerBros.com. I have had trouble on occasion with this link, so if it isn’t working, try this link from SeattlePI.com: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part  1-SPI.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 ~ Theatre Banner

At approximately 10 feet wide x 5 feet tall, this vinyl “mural banner” is almost double the size of a typical vinyl theatre banner. I have seen full-size banners of some of the individual panels listed on eBay, but do not know if they originally were used in theatres, or are reproductions.


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