Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAdventure, Family & Fantasy
RatedPG
Runtime2 hr 33 mins
ReleasedJuly 15, 2009
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorDavid Yates
StarringDaniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson
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Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
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| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's Details | |
| Genre | Adventure, Family & Fantasy |
| Rated | PG |
| Released | 07/07/2009 (Odeon Leicester Square); 07/15/2009 (United Kingdom and United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 33 mins |
| Budget | $250M (reported) |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling |
| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Language | English |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's Interests | |
| General | Potions class, Felix Felicis, Quidditch tryouts, a textbook full of scribbles. |
| Music | Nicholas Hooper. Moody, misty and a little heartbroken. |
| Movies | Order of the Phoenix (2007). Last year's drama, warmed up. |
| Television | The Great British Bake Off. Potions is basically baking with higher stakes. |
| Heroes | Horace Slughorn. Collects famous students like trophies. |
| Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince's Crew | |
| Director | David Yates |
| Writers | Steve Kloves |
| Producers | David Heyman, David Barron |
| Cinematography | Bruno Delbonnel |
| Music | Nicholas Hooper |
| Edited By | Mark Day |
| Production | Warner Bros. Pictures, Heyday Films |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Half-Blood Prince is a teen romance movie with a war happening in the hallway outside. Ron gets a clingy girlfriend, Hermione sics a flock of tiny birds on him, and every scene seems to end with somebody staring longingly across a common room. Meanwhile the actual plot, Dumbledore’s memories and Draco’s secret assignment, keeps getting shoved aside for kissing in corridors. The best stretch is Harry drinking a luck potion and turning into the most relaxed teenager on Earth, easily the funniest Daniel Radcliffe gets in the series. It’s also the best-looking Potter movie, all gray light and long shadows. Jim Broadbent’s Slughorn collects gifted students like trading cards and is a total delight. It cleared $1.01 billion worldwide. A 7.3 because the last act hits hard, but getting there feels like a school year nobody planned. $66 says you give someone a terrible pet name this week and blame Lavender Brown.
What works: Gorgeous photography, Jim Broadbent’s Slughorn, Harry on a luck potion, and a final act with real weight.
What doesn’t: The romance subplots crowd out the main story, and the Half-Blood Prince mystery ends with a shrug instead of a gasp.
Who it’s for: Fans who care about who ends up with whom as much as who wins the war.
Spoilers
Snape kills Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower after Draco can’t go through with it, then reveals he is the Half-Blood Prince. The locket Harry and Dumbledore went through so much to recover turns out to be a fake.
Voldemort's followers are causing chaos in both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has a new assignment. Dumbledore (Michael Gambon) wants his help winning over Horace Slughorn (Jim Broadbent), a retired Potions teacher with a soft spot for famous students. Back at Hogwarts, Harry picks up an old Potions textbook full of brilliant notes from someone who signs as the Half-Blood Prince, and suddenly he is top of the class. He is also convinced Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is up to something. Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermione (Emma Watson) have their own drama. David Yates directs. One hundred fifty-three minutes, way too many crushes.
Anyone with a secondhand textbook and suspicious notes in the margins.
| Daniel Radcliffe | Harry Potter |
| Rupert Grint | Ron Weasley |
| Emma Watson | Hermione Granger |
| Helena Bonham Carter | Bellatrix Lestrange |
| Jim Broadbent | Horace Slughorn |
| Robbie Coltrane | Rubeus Hagrid |
| Warwick Davis | Filius Flitwick |
| Tom Felton | Draco Malfoy |
| Michael Gambon | Albus Dumbledore |
| Alan Rickman | Severus Snape |
| Maggie Smith | Minerva McGonagall |
| Timothy Spall | Peter Pettigrew |
| David Thewlis | Remus Lupin |
| Julie Walters | Molly Weasley |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +480 Numbers refreshed: Worldwide box office $1.01B; Domestic box office $302.3M; Opening weekend $77.8M; Profit / loss (est.) +$129.2M; Rotten Tomatoes 83%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; RT 83% (280 reviews); Metacritic 78 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 7.6 / 10 (673,041 votes); movie.guru score 7.9.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.