"Madagascar 2": Happy for Harry Potter Move

Harry Potter fans are lamenting the move of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from Nov. 21, 2008 to July 17, 2009. But it’s a good thing for Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, because it leaves the family flick with a lot less competition when it opens on Nov. 7.

More after the jump…

“We think it’s a big deal,” said Dreamworks Animation CFO Lew Coleman at the Merrill Lynch Media Fall Preview conference yesterday.

Coleman also mentioned that Dreamworks Animation doesn’t intend to enter the straight-to-DVD market anytime soon because, at $1 million a minute, it’s too expensive to create such content.

Last year’s TV special Shrek the Halls will repeat this Christmas and also be a DVD release. I didn’t catch it last year, so I’ll look forward to seeing it.

Image: Madagascar 2, Dreamworks Animation, 2008