A sigh of relief: Warner Bros. declines to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part I in 3D. Will release part 7 on Nov 19th in 2D only.

In a somewhat shocking turnaround, Warner Bros. has announced today that they will be releasing the first portion of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 35mm and IMAX 2D only, with no 3D conversion. The studio is claiming that there will not be enough time to properly convert the feature in 3D at a quality level they are comfortable with. That probably translates as 'we've seen the blowback of conversions with Clash of the Titans and The Last Airbender, and we don't want to risk our golden goose in such a manner'. The last thing that Warner Bros. wants is a parade of reviews exclaiming 'the movie is good, but the 3D is terrible!'. Those who don't care for 3D, and especially detest 3D conversions are no doubt applauding the decision. For what it's worth, good on Warner for opting for going for quality over commerce.