The final two Harry Potter films are to get the Avatar treatment and will be released in 3D.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, which stars Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint, will be released as two films, with the first due out later this year.

The last installment of the series, Harry Potter And The Half Blood Prince, had 25 minutes of 3D footage viewable at Imax cinema at the beginning.

Getting the 3D treatment: Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) will be seen in 3D in the final films

But conversion costs are decreasing and making it increasingly affordable to release the entire film in that format.

The news comes in the same week that James Cameron's 3D sci-fi epic Avatar became the highest grossing film ever, beating the previous record-holder Titanic.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Warners are due to make an announcement that both Clash Of The Titans and the Harry Potter films will be in 3D shortly.

All in 3D: Scenes filmed last year with Harry Potter and Helena Bonham Cater as Bellatrix Lestrange, will be converted to three-dimensional film

Making a dash for it: Stunt doubles as Hagrid and Harry will appear in 3D

Each film now costs $5million to change into 3D and Warners will also absorb an additional $5million per movie to pay for 3D glasses.

Deathly Hallows: Part I is set for release on November 19, with Part II due out on July 15, 2011.

It was unclear whether author J.K. Rowling had to OK the move into the third dimension.

With the Potter movies in 3D, it could prompt other high-profile films, with even James Bond, made by MGM, moving into the format. Sony is said to be considering sending Spiderman into the third dimension.

Tried and tested: The initial 25 minutes of the Half-Blood Prince were in 3D at Imax cinemas last year

Published by Jeff Leins on: February 3rd, 2010

Warner Bros has confirmed what we already knew: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 and 2 will be released in 3D and Clash of the Titans is scooting back a week to April 2 to accommodate its own 3D conversion. All three films were shot in traditional 2D.

The studio has been testing the pop-up process in an underground lair somewhere, and seems pleased with the results. Which is why today’s press release reveals they’re toying with The Polar Express, select scenes fromSuperman Returns, and probably more from their extensive library. Upcoming conversions include suggestively titled family film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (July) and Zach Snyder’s owl movie Guardians of Ga’Hoole (September).

They really are just going down the list of gimmicks at this point, aren’t they? “Talking animals… check. Celebrity voice overs… check. 3D… check!” Now if only they can find enough 3D theaters to cram these into.

Which brings us to Paramount. Not to be left out of the hot new Hollywood trend, the studio is discussing stereoscopic 3D with Michael Bay and ILM for Transformers 3, according toVariety. At this time it’s unclear whether they want to shoot using the same Avatar cameras — which is expensive and time-consuming — or convert everything in post-production. Will another dimension make this sequel suck less? I doubt it.

Bay has been vocal about the technique, calling it a gimmick at ShoWest last year. (Though he did see Cameron’s film andtold reporters, “[It] puts you in another world, and that’s the highest praise.”)

It has only been a month and a half since Avatar began wowing audiences and executives with its extra dimension and I’m already sick of 3D. Not because I myself wasn’t blown away by what Cameron accomplished visually with stereoscopic technology, but I’m fearing the dreaded “Our big blockbuster will be in 3D!” announcements for the next few years, accompanying the already predictable IMAX press releases touting the latest deal in higher ticket prices.

It’s one thing if the movie was shot with the intention of 3D, but this conversion nonsense may send mixed messages to consumers looking for Avatar visuals and getting cardboard cut-out effects instead. Until the technology improves across the board (projection, conversion, televisions, and Blu-ray), the excitement over 3D seems premature.

I know I’ve ranted about 3D before, but here’s how bad it has gotten: the new “We Are the World” Haiti relief fundraiser was shot in 3D by Paul Haggis.