If you want to own the Harry Potter movies, act now, because after Dec. 29, Warner Bros. is casting a vanishing spell over the film's DVDs and Blu-rays.
The Wrap.com reported last week that the studio will no longer ship new "Potter" discs after that December date. Yes, that's akin to the famed Disney Vault model, where classic Disney films are only available for a short time, then taken away, and periodically re-released with much fanfare.
It's no doubt profitable — especially to eBayers and other resellers. It can be a drag for parents though. Who stocks up on the entire Disney library before they have children? (Well, a friend of mine did ... but she bought them on VHS, and by the time her children arrived, DVD was the standard.)
The oddest thing about the move is that it includes the final film, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2," which doesn't even come out for home viewing until Nov. 11. So if you want that film, you've got six weeks to pick one up. Naturally, there's a box set of all eight films also coming out on Nov. 11.
But Entertainment Weekly grabbed some reassuring quotes from Warner Bros.' senior vice-president Jeff Baker. "There will be product come the first of the year," Baker told EW. "But over time there'll be less and less of that inventory."
We're too cynical to panic. As The Wrap suggests, we find it easy to imagine Harry and Hermione reappearing in theaters in 3-D, a la "The Lion King." Hakuna matata, Muggles.
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Gael Fashingbauer Cooper is TODAY.com's movies editor.