Warner Bros. Pictures’ "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" Released in Record Number of Theaters

Even before it opens, Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is breaking records in theatres. The announcement was made today by Dan Fellman, President of Domestic Distribution, and Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, President of International Distribution, Warner Bros. Pictures.

Breaking its own domestic release record in support of “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Warner Bros. Pictures is opening the film in 4,285 locations and over 9,000 screens, the widest domestic release pattern ever for any Warner Bros. film. As part of this opening, the film will be shown digitally on 579 screens in 325 locations, more than any Warner Bros. film to date.

With showings in many cities starting at midnight, the film will also have the largest number of day-and-date international openings of any film in the franchise, with simultaneous releases in 44 markets worldwide beginning July 11, 2007. This far surpasses any of the previous Harry Potter release patterns, almost doubling the 24-market release pattern of the previous record holder, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.”

In addition, Warner Bros. has generated the greatest overall number of prints for “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” with over 22,000 prints going to exhibitors around the world. Internationally, it is also the largest digital cinema release to date for any Warner Bros. title with over 750 screens.

On the IMAX front, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” is breaking industry records, going up on more IMAX screens than any previous release. The film will open on 126 IMAX screens worldwide – 91 of those in the US, with many featuring the final scenes of the film in IMAX 3D.

In “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts only to discover that much of the wizarding community has been led to believe that the story of the teenager’s recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort is a lie, putting Harry’s integrity in question. Worse, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, has appointed a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, the duplicitous Professor Dolores Umbridge. But Professor Umbridge’s “Ministry-approved” course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the Dark forces threatening them, so, at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry is convinced to take matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves “Dumbledore’s Army,” Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.

Warner Bros. Pictures Presents A Heyday Films Production, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Ralph Fiennes, Michael Gambon, Brendan Gleeson, Richard Griffiths, Jason Isaacs, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Maggie Smith, Imelda Staunton, David Thewlis, Emma Thompson and Julie Walters.

The film was directed by David Yates and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. Michael Goldenberg wrote the screenplay, based on the novel by J.K. Rowling. Lionel Wigram served as executive producer.

“Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

This film has been rated “PG-13” by the MPAA for “sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images.”