Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
80%RT Audience Score: 78%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 3 Oscars
17 wins & 69 nominations total
Dark, thrilling, and occasionally quite funny, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also visually stunning and emotionally satisfying
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is like that one roller coaster at the amusement park that you go on just because you’re too scared to try the big ones. It’s not the most thrilling ride, but it’s still a fun time. The CGI is impressive and the British character actors steal the show. Plus, it’s cool to see the characters grow up and deal with more mature themes. Overall, it’s a solid addition to the Harry Potter franchise.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Chenault Productions,
Distributor
Warner Bros.
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Alnwick Castle, Alnwick, Northumberland, England, UK
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for some scary moments and mild language
Year of Release
2009
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX 12-Track Digital Sound IMAX 6-Track
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 33m
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Language(s):English, Latin
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 15, 2009 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 8, 2009
Genre(s)
Fantasy/Adventure
Keyword(s)
starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, Jim Broadbent, Robbie Coltrane, directed by David Yates, written by Steve Kloves, Fantasy, Adventure, PG, box office performance, $302.0M, reviewed by Laremy Legel, Giles Hardie, Anthony Lane, Cliff Doerksen, Lisa Kennedy, JW Smith, David Nusair, Mike Massie, Richard Propes, Leigh Paatsch, Nikhat Kazmi, produced by David Heyman, David Barron, Warner Bros
Worldwide gross: $1,017,713,119
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,715,140,162
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 27
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 187,038,186
US/Canada gross: $318,886,962
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $537,416,513
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 59
US/Canada opening weekend: $90,294,621
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $152,172,482
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 30
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $125,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $210,661,056
Production budget ranking: 93
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $113,440,979
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $1,391,038,127
ROI to date (est.): 429%
ROI ranking: 307
Rupert Grint – Ron Weasley
Emma Watson – Hermione Granger
Helena Bonham Carter – Bellatrix Lestrange
Jim Broadbent – Horace Slughorn
Robbie Coltrane – Rubeus Hagrid
David Yates – Director
David Heyman, David Barron – Producers
Steve Kloves – Writer
Director(s)
David Yates
Writer(s)
Steve Kloves
Producer(s)
David Heyman, David Barron
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 3 Oscars
17 wins & 69 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (280) | Top Critics (74) | Fresh (234) | Rotten (46)
I think it’s the best of the series, fairly easily, and a testament to why occasionally throwing a massive budget at an endeavor of this scope can be considered a reasonable decision.
May 6, 2011 | Rating: A-
Laremy Legel
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
If Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a roller coaster, it’s the tiny train meant for only the very youngest kids, the one that seems to go round and round forever without really ever picking up any pace.
July 22, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
Giles Hardie
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
All in all, despite the verve that drives the grander set pieces, it’s hard to avoid the sensation of a film toiling overtime to convince itself of its own solemnity.
July 20, 2009
Anthony Lane
New Yorker
TOP CRITIC
Director David Yates presides over some gorgeous CGI set pieces, but all the real magic comes from the scrum of ace British character actors.
July 17, 2009
Cliff Doerksen
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
With its deft handling of teen yearning and affection, Half-Blood Prince maneuvers mysteries of heart and hankering that resound in worlds magic and Muggle.
July 17, 2009 | Rating: 3.5/4
Lisa Kennedy
Denver Post
TOP CRITIC
David Yates is a solid hand as director, he does nothing but let the taps run, leaving us with little more than a bath full of comfortable if lukewarm water.
July 17, 2009 | Rating: 3/5
JW Smith
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
…a for-fans-only entry within an often distressingly hit-and-miss series of films.
December 26, 2021 | Rating: 3/4
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Simultaneously the most mature and the most entertaining; the days of playful sorcery and lighthearted misadventures are long gone.
November 28, 2020 | Rating: 8/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
While we’ve always seen touches of brilliance in Radcliffe’s work, the most surprising growth comes in the performances of Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.
September 10, 2020 | Rating: 3.5/4.0
Richard Propes
TheIndependentCritic.com
Director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves crafted a challenging and decidedly mature film that paves the way perfectly for the two-part finale.
July 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Leigh Paatsch
Herald Sun (Australia)
There is an overriding sense of urgency in the penultimate film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which moves at breakneck speed from the opening sequence itself.
February 28, 2020
Nikhat Kazmi
The Times of India
Good film directed for a teenage audience in which not only is magic taught but also how stereotypes affect it while the film itself recreates some British stereotypes. [Review in Spanish]
July 11, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Guillem Martinez Oya
Cinematismo…
Plot
This is the tale of Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), an ordinary eleven-year-old boy serving as a sort of slave for his aunt and uncle who learns that he is actually a wizard and has been invited to attend the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry is snatched away from his mundane existence by Rubeus Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), the groundskeeper for Hogwarts, and quickly thrown into a world completely foreign to both him and the viewer. Famous for an incident that happened at his birth, Harry makes friends easily at his new school. He soon finds, however, that the wizarding world is far more dangerous for him than he would have imagined, and he quickly learns that not all wizards are ones to be trusted.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
No goofy or funny or odd comments were found in the Fresh Kernels database for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
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