Warner Bros. is hoping to lure you back into a cinema seat, wand-shaped popcorn bucket in hand, and this go-around it has genuine bait for the crowd that has already rewatched all eight films countless times.
To celebrate a quarter-century since the first Harry Potter movie hit screens, the studio has lined up an event it’s branding “Back to Hogwarts,” and the concept couldn’t be more direct. Every film. Back in theaters. A single week.
The entire saga, one after another
Running from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3, all eight movies come back to cinemas around the globe, screening back-to-back so fans can tackle the whole marathon or simply cherry-pick a favorite.
That’s the sort of stunt studios roll out for a milestone anniversary, trusting nostalgia to handle the rest. In this case, though, there’s a genuine incentive to turn up for the opener.
The hook lives in the first movie
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone won’t simply be the cut sitting on your shelf. According to Warner Bros., the debut film will feature previously unseen footage clocking in at around 12 minutes.
Twelve minutes is hardly a token bonus. That amounts to an entire scene’s worth of material stitched into a film audiences know almost by heart — and that’s precisely what elevates a standard re-release into something worth buying a ticket for.
The open questions
The remainder of the franchise also plays worldwide during that identical Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 stretch, an event Warner Bros. is billing as a “global premiere.”
Still, “worldwide” is carrying plenty of weight. There’s no confirmation yet on whether those precise dates hold for the Greek market, so if you’re based there, hold off on cementing any marathon plans.
Where ticket sales stand
The pre-sale kicks off July 31 — for select markets, at any rate. Exactly which markets, and whether yours makes the cut, is what everyone will be reloading their local cinema’s website to find out.
Twenty-five years, eight films, and a dozen minutes of footage that’s apparently been locked away in a vault all this time. If you were ever going to watch the whole thing on the big screen again, this is the version to do it with.