Two days ago, Warner Bros. announced that the release date of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince would be pushed back to July 17, 2009, eight months later than the original release date this November. The intertubes promptly exploded, with outraged fans calling for online petitions, letter writing campaigns, and boycotts. The intended message? You don't mess with Harry Potter fans because we will mess right back.

And why did Warner Bros. delay HBP's opening? Well, several reasons were provided.

“Our reasons for shifting ‘Half-Blood Prince’ to summer are twofold: we know the summer season is an ideal window for a family tent pole release, as proven by the success of our last Harry Potter film, which is the second-highest grossing film in the franchise, behind only the first installment."

“The release date change does not alter the production schedule for this or future Harry Potter films. Post-production on ‘Half-Blood Prince’ was completed on time...In fact, the good news for them is that the gap will now be shortened between ‘Half-Blood Prince’ and the first part of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’”

"We are all looking forward to sharing it with Harry Potter fans around the world, even if we have to wait just a bit longer.”

But the fans beg to differ, pointing out that the highest earning Potter film so far was released closer to the original release date, that no one was complaining about the space between movie six and part one of the seventh, and that if they care about the fans, they should listen and stick with the original release date, announced months ago and already featured in a trailer.

What is your opinion on Warner Bros.' decision? Was it justified and brilliant marketing to boot? Are they just using the extra time to make the movie better? Or was it just a brilliant way to alienate fans?

And in general, what impact do you think that we girls, as consumers, can have on huge corporations like this? What's the best way to show them that they have nothing without us?
What other companies come to mind that do things you disagree with...maybe they have marketing campaigns that show girls in a negative light...and what can we do to make our voices heard?