Did Warner Bros. Leave Money on the Table with Harry Potter Finale?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 featured seven branded products. That is seven more than the second part of the film, the just-opened, record-smashing (biggest midnight opening, opening day and opening weekend box office) finale in the entire Harry Potter movie franchise.

Yes, the eighth and final Harry Potter film feature not one identifiable brand… except, of course, the biggest brand of them all: Harry Potter.

The seven brands we spotted in the seventh film (Deathly Hallows Part 1) also represents the highest pre-movie brand tally of any of the record-breaking series.

Brandcameos per Harry Potter film:

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) - 5 brands
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) - 1 brand
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) -  0 brands
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - (2005) - 0 brands
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007) - 3 brands
• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) - 0 brands
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) - 7 brands
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) - 0 brands

That's sixteen total identifiable products in eight of the most popular movies of all time. In the modern era of product placement, that is an extraordinary achievement, particularly for a contemporary movie franchise that isn't a period piece or costume drama.

And it's not that Harry Potter producers didn't have a chance. Unlike with a franchise such as Pirates of the Caribbean, where placing modern products is an impossibility, chunks of the Potter story take place solidly in the well-branded Muggle reality. Indeed, in various moments throughout the Warner Bros. series, characters have been spotted wearing Adidas, North Face and Belstaff, while Fords and Vespas can be seen.

But largely, producers have chosen to keep the onscreen products to a bare minimum, even when the opportunity presented itself.

This decision is, in part, of course due to the fact that any further onscreen brands might dilute the core product placement of the series: Harry Potter itself.

Licensed to the hilt, the Harry Potter brand reached its peak with this year's opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter attraction within Universal Orlando.

One homebrewed brand at the park that isn't being exploited, by the way: Butterbeer, the Potter books' alcohol-free beverage that was brought to life by the Universal Studios executive chef, and earlier this year poured its one millionth serving. (Nothing to stop fans, of course, from attempting to whip up own version of Butterbeer in their self-styled Harry Potter dens.)

It seems that theme park as cinema entertainment is a rising theme. Three mega-grossing films this year have, or will soon have, theme parks.

A top film just weeks ago, Pirates of the Caribbean revived a flailing Disney theme park feature. Today, Pirates of the Caribbean is one of the most popular attractions at the Magic Kingdom.

Theme park revival is reportedly what Disney has in mind for the opening of a Cars-related attraction. Based on the Disney Pixar films, Disney has spent over $1 billion dollars to date developing "Cars Land," slated to open next year at its California Adventure Park. Cars Land will be adjacent to "A Bug's Land," a portion of the park based on the 1998 Pixar film A Bug's Life.

Disney, of course, hopes that "Cars Land" will be a shot in the arm for its California park, and it's clear that the latest film was engineered with this park in mind (which was announced in 2007, a year after the original film). Themed on the "Radiator Springs" town of the film, Cars Land will feature an all-character race through town, just like in the conclusion of Cars 2.

Cars 2 takes place in Tokyo, and to some extent Paris, both cities with Disney theme parks that could be primed to open a Cars Land of their own if the idea speeds off.

And since this all seems to be working so well, Disney has gone ahead and green-lit a movie adaptation of its classic ride "The Matterhorn." Opened in 1959, the attraction takes visitors on a thrilling bobsled ride through virtual Swiss Alps. It's unknown when the film, with the working title of The Hill, will be in theaters.

But that's not all. To top it all off, Disney has Iron Man director Jon Favreau working on a theme park-releated film. Tentatively titled "Magic Kingdom," the pic is loosely based on the Disney theme parks as a whole, which would seem to make all the rest… unnecessary, no?

For all the brands in the Harry Potter series, visit our Brandcameo product placement database, which goes all the way back to 2001 — just like Harry Potter.