HARRY POTTER - MEMORABLE MOMENTS #1 - Card #40 - A TALENT FOR TROUBLE

Description: Harry Potter - Individual Base Card from the first Gold Foil "MEMORABLE MOMENTS" series issued by Artbox in 2006. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (released in the United States, India and Pakistan as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone) is a 2001 British fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 1997 novel of the same name. The film is the first instalment of the Harry Potter film series and was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. Its story follows Harry Potter's first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as he discovers that he is a famous wizard and begins his education. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Warner Bros. bought the film rights to the book in 1999 for a reported £1 million ($1.65 million in 1999). Production began in the United Kingdom in 2000, with Chris Columbus being chosen to create the film from a short list of directors that included Steven Spielberg and Rob Reiner. Rowling insisted that the entire cast be British and Irish, and the film was shot at Leavesden Film Studios and historic buildings around the United Kingdom. The film was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom and United States on 16 November 2001. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing $975.1 million at the box office worldwide. The highest-grossing film of 2001, it is the fortieth highest-grossing of all-time (2nd at the time of its release) and the second most successful instalment of the Harry Potter series behind Deathly Hallows – Part 2. The film was nominated for many awards, including Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction and Best Costume Design. It was followed by seven sequels, beginning with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in 2002 and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, nearly ten years after the first film's release. In late 1981, Albus Dumbledore, Minerva McGonagall, and Rubeus Hagrid, professors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, deliver a recently orphaned infant named Harry Potter to his only remaining relatives, the Dursleys. Ten years later, Harry has been battling a disjointed life with the Dursleys. After inadvertently causing an accident during a family trip to the zoo, Harry begins receiving unsolicited letters by owls. After the Dursleys escape to an island to avoid more letters, Hagrid re-appears and informs Harry that he is actually a wizard and has been accepted into Hogwarts against the Dursleys' wishes. After taking Harry to Diagon Alley to buy his supplies for Hogwarts and a pet owl named Hedwig as a birthday present, Hagrid informs him of his past; Harry's parents James and Lily Potter met their demise via a Killing Curse at the hands of the malevolent and all-powerful wizard: Lord Voldemort. Harry, the only survivor in the chaos, thus becomes well-known in the wizarding world as "The Boy Who Lived". Harry is then taken to King's Cross station to board a train to Hogwarts, where he meets three other students: Ron Weasley, whom he quickly befriends; Hermione Granger, an intelligent witch born to muggle parents; and Draco Malfoy, a boy from a wealthy wizarding family, with whom he immediately clashes. After arriving at school the students assemble in the Great Hall, where all the first-years are sorted by the Sorting Hat between four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Although the Sorting Hat considers putting Harry in Slytherin with Draco, he is placed into Gryffindor alongside Ron and Hermione. At Hogwarts, Harry begins learning magic spells and discovers more about his past and parents. After recovering the Remembrall of Gryffindor student Neville Longbottom, Harry is recruited for Gryffindor's Quidditch team as a Seeker, an extremely rare feat for first-year students. On their way to the dorms one night the stair cases change paths leading the three to the forbidden floor of Hogwarts, Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover a giant three-headed dog named Fluffy in a restricted area of the school. Ron then insults Hermione after being embarrassed by her in a charms lesson, causing Hermione to lock herself in the girls' bathroom. She is attacked by a marauding troll, but Harry and Ron save her - befriending her in the process. The children later find out Fluffy is guarding the Philosopher's Stone, an object that has the power to turn any metal into gold and produce a potion that grants immortality. Harry suspects that potions teacher and head of Slytherin House Severus Snape is trying to obtain the stone in order to return Voldemort to physical form. Hagrid accidentally reveals to the trio that Fluffy will fall asleep if played music. Harry, Ron, and Hermione decide that night to try and find the stone before Snape. They discover an already asleep Fluffy and face a series of safeguards including a deadly plant known as Devil's Snare, a room filled with aggressive flying keys that bruise Harry, and a dangerous life-sized game of chess that almost kills Ron. After getting past the tasks, Harry discovers that it was Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Quirinus Quirrell who was trying to claim the stone: Snape had actually been protecting Harry all along. Quirrell removes his turban and reveals a weak Voldemort living on the back of his head. Through an enchantment placed by Dumbledore, Harry finds the stone in his possession. Voldemort attempts to bargain the stone from Harry in exchange for reviving his parents, but Harry refuses. Quirrell attempts to kill Harry in response; however, he is instead killed after Harry ends up burning his skin - reducing Quirrell to dust and causing Voldemort's soul to rise from his ashes. Harry is knocked unconscious in the process. Harry recovers in the school hospital with Dumbledore at his side. Dumbledore explains that the stone has been destroyed and that Ron and Hermione are safe. Dumbledore also reveals how Harry was able to defeat Quirrell: when Harry's mother died to save him, her death gave Harry a love-based protection against Voldemort. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are rewarded with house points for their heroic performances - tying them for first place with Slytherin. Dumbledore then awards ten points to Neville for attempting to stop the trio, granting Gryffindor the House Cup. Harry returns home for the summer, happy to finally have a real home in Hogwarts. Cast Rowling insisted that the cast be kept British. Susie Figgis was appointed as casting director, working with both Columbus and Rowling in auditioning the lead roles of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Open casting calls were held for the main three roles, with only British children being considered. The principal auditions took place in three parts, with those auditioning having to read a page from the novel, then to improvise a scene of the students' arrival at Hogwarts, and finally to read several pages from the script in front of Columbus. Scenes from Columbus' script for the 1985 film Young Sherlock Holmes were also used in auditions. On 11 July 2000, Figgis left the production, complaining that Columbus did not consider any of the thousands of children they had auditioned "worthy". On 8 August 2000, the virtually unknown Daniel Radcliffe and newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were selected to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively. Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, an 11-year-old orphan raised by his unwelcoming aunt and uncle, who learns of his own fame as a wizard known to have survived his parents' murder at the hands of the psychopathic dark wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant when he is accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Columbus had wanted Radcliffe for the role since he saw him in the BBC's production of David Copperfield, before the open casting sessions had taken place, but had been told by Figgis that Radcliffe's protective parents would not allow their son to take the part. Columbus explained that his persistence in giving Radcliffe the role was responsible for Figgis' resignation. Radcliffe was asked to audition in 2000, when Heyman and Kloves met him and his parents at a production of Stones in His Pockets in London. Heyman and Columbus successfully managed to convince Radcliffe's parents that their son would be protected from media intrusion, and they agreed to let him play Harry. Rowling approved of Radcliffe's casting, stating that "having seen [his] screen test I don't think Chris Columbus could have found a better Harry." Radcliffe was reportedly paid £1 million for the film, although he felt the fee was "not that important". William Moseley, who was later cast as Peter Pevensie in The Chronicles of Narnia series, also auditioned for the role. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts. A fan of the series, Grint decided he would be perfect for the part "because [he has] ginger hair". Having seen a Newsround report about the open casting he sent in a video of himself rapping about how he wished to receive the part. His attempt was successful as the casting team asked for a meeting with him. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend and the trio's brains. Watson's Oxford theatre teacher passed her name on to the casting agents and she had to do over five interviews before she got the part. Watson took her audition seriously, but "never really thought [she] had any chance of getting the role." The producers were impressed by Watson's self-confidence and she outperformed the thousands of other girls who had applied. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, the trio's enemy. John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost of Hogwarts' Gryffindor House. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, a half-giant and Hogwarts' Groundskeeper. Coltrane was one of the two actors Rowling wanted most, along with Smith as McGonagall. Coltrane, who was already a fan of the books, prepared for the role by discussing Hagrid's past and future with Rowling. According to Figgis, Robin Williams was interested in participating in the film, but was turned down for the Hagrid role because of the "strictly British and Irish only" rule which Columbus was determined to maintain. Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, the Charms Master and head of Hogwarts' Ravenclaw House. Davis also plays two other roles in the film: the Goblin Head Teller at Gringotts, and dubs the voice of Griphook, who is embodied by Verne Troyer. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle uncle. Ian McNeice was considered for the role of Vernon. Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore, Hogwarts' Headmaster and one of the most famous and powerful wizards of all time. Harris initially rejected the role, only to reverse his decision after his granddaughter stated she would never speak to him again if he did not take it. Ian Hart as Quirinus Quirrell, the slightly nervous Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts, and also Lord Voldemort's voice. David Thewlis auditioned for the part; he would later be cast as Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. John Hurt as Mr. Ollivander, the owner of Ollivanders, a highly regarded wandmaker. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions Master and head of Hogwarts' Slytherin House. Tim Roth was the original choice for the role, but he turned it down for Planet of the Apes. Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress, head of Gryffindor and transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts. Smith was one of the two actors Rowling wanted most, along with Coltrane as Hagrid. Verne Troyer as Griphook, a goblin who works at Gringotts. His voice is dubbed by Warwick Davis. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, Ron's caring mother. She shows Harry how to get to Platform ​9 3⁄4. Before Walters was cast, American actress Rosie O'Donnell held talks with Columbus about playing Mrs. Weasley. Production Development In 1997, producer David Heyman searched for a children's book that could be adapted into a well-received film. He had planned to produce Diana Wynne Jones' novel The Ogre Downstairs, but his plans fell through. His staff at Heyday Films then suggested Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, which his assistant believed was "a cool idea." Heyman pitched the idea to Warner Bros. and in 1999, Rowling sold the company the rights to the first four Harry Potter books for a reported £1 million (US$1,982,900). A demand Rowling made was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, nonetheless allowing for the inclusion of Irish actors such as Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where characters from the book are specified as such. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Bros. to make non-author-written sequels. Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the film, he declined the offer. Spielberg reportedly wanted the adaptation to be an animated film, with American actor Haley Joel Osment to provide Harry Potter's voice, or a film that incorporated elements from subsequent books as well. Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, it was like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge." Rowling maintains that she had no role in choosing directors for the films and that "anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' Spielberg needs their Quick-Quotes Quill serviced." Heyman recalled that Spielberg decided to direct A.I. Artificial Intelligence instead. After Spielberg left, talks began with other directors, including: Chris Columbus, Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Demme, Mike Newell, Alan Parker, Wolfgang Petersen, Rob Reiner, Ivan Reitman, Tim Robbins, Brad Silberling, M. Night Shyamalan and Peter Weir. Petersen and Reiner both pulled out of the running in March 2000, and the choice was narrowed down to Silberling, Columbus, Parker and Gilliam. Rowling's first choice director was Terry Gilliam, but Warner Bros. chose Columbus, citing his work on other family films such as Home Alone and Mrs. Doubtfire as influences for their decision. Columbus pitched his vision of the film for two hours, stating that he wanted the Muggle scenes "to be bleak and dreary" but those set in the wizarding world "to be steeped in color, mood, and detail." He took inspiration from David Lean's adaptations of Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948), wishing to use "that sort of darkness, that sort of edge, that quality to the cinematography," while being further inspired by the colour designs from Oliver! (1968) and The Godfather (1972). Steve Kloves was selected to write the screenplay. He described adapting the book as "tough", as it did not "lend itself to adaptation as well as the next two books." Kloves often received synopses of books proposed as film adaptations from Warner Bros., which he "almost never read", but Harry Potter jumped out at him. He went out and bought the book, and became an instant fan of the series. When speaking to Warner Bros., he stated that the film had to be British, and had to be true to the characters. Kloves was nervous when he first met Rowling as he did not want her to think he was going to "[destroy] her baby." Rowling admitted that she "was really ready to hate this Steve Kloves," but recalled her initial meeting with him: "The first time I met him, he said to me, 'You know who my favourite character is?' And I thought, You're gonna say Ron. I know you're gonna say Ron. But he said 'Hermione.' And I just kind of melted." Rowling received a large amount of creative control, an arrangement that Columbus did not mind. Warner Bros. had initially planned to release the film over 4 July 2001 weekend, making for such a short production window that several proposed directors pulled themselves out of the running. Due to time constraints, the date was put back to 16 November 2001. Filming Two British film industry officials requested that the film be shot in the United Kingdom, offering their assistance in securing filming locations, the use of Leavesden Film Studios, as well as changing the UK's child labour laws (adding a small number of working hours per week and making the timing of on-set classes more flexible). Warner Bros. accepted their proposal. Filming began on 29 September 2000 at Leavesden Film Studios and concluded on 23 March 2001, with final work being done in July. Principal photography took place on 2 October 2000 at North Yorkshire's Goathland railway station. Canterbury Cathedral and Scotland's Inverailort Castle were both touted as possible locations for Hogwarts; Canterbury rejected Warner Bros. proposal due to concerns about the film's "pagan" theme. Alnwick Castle and Gloucester Cathedral were eventually selected as the principal locations for Hogwarts, with some scenes also being filmed at Harrow School. Other Hogwarts scenes were filmed in Durham Cathedral over a two-week period; these included shots of the corridors and some classroom scenes. Oxford University's Divinity School served as the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, and Duke Humfrey's Library, part of the Bodleian, was used as the Hogwarts Library. Filming for Privet Drive took place on Picket Post Close in Bracknell, Berkshire. Filming in the street took two days instead of the planned single day, so payments to the street's residents were correspondingly increased. For all the subsequent film's scenes set in Privet Drive, filming took place on a constructed set in Leavesden Film Studios, which proved to have been cheaper than filming on location. London's Australia House was selected as the location for Gringotts Wizarding Bank, while Christ Church, Oxford was the location for the Hogwarts trophy room. London Zoo was used as the location for the scene in which Harry accidentally sets a snake on Dudley, with King's Cross Station also being used as the book specifies. Because the American title was different, all scenes that mention the philosopher's stone by name had to be re-shot, once with the actors saying "philosopher's" and once with "sorcerer's". The children filmed for four hours and then did three hours of schoolwork. They developed a liking for fake facial injuries from the makeup staff. Radcliffe was initially meant to wear green contact lenses as his eyes are blue, and not green like Harry's, but the lenses gave Radcliffe extreme irritation. Upon consultation with Rowling, it was agreed that Harry could have blue eyes. Design and special effects Judianna Makovsky designed the costumes. She re-designed the Quidditch robes, having initially planned to use those shown on the cover of the American book, but deemed them "a mess." Instead, she dressed the Quidditch players in "preppie sweaters, 19th century fencing breeches and arm guards." Production designer Stuart Craig built the sets at Leavesden Studios, including Hogwarts Great Hall, basing it on many English cathedrals. Although originally asked to use an existing old street to film the Diagon Alley scenes, Craig decided to build his own set, comprising Tudor, Georgian and Queen Anne architecture. Columbus originally planned to use both animatronics and CGI animation to create the magical creatures, including Fluffy. Nick Dudman, who worked on Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, was given the task of creating the needed prosthetics, with Jim Henson's Creature Shop providing creature effects. John Coppinger stated that the magical creatures that needed to be created had to be designed multiple times. The film features nearly 600 special effects shots, involving numerous companies. Industrial Light & Magic created Lord Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell, Rhythm & Hues animated Norbert (Hagrid's baby dragon); and Sony Pictures Imageworks produced the Quidditch scenes. Music John Williams was selected to compose the score. Williams composed the score at his homes in Los Angeles and Tanglewood before recording it in London in September 2001. One of the main themes is entitled "Hedwig's Theme"; Williams retained it for his finished score as "everyone seemed to like it" and therefore it was a recurring theme throughout the series. Differences from the book Columbus repeatedly checked with Rowling to make sure he was getting minor details correct. Kloves described the film as being "really faithful" to the book. He added dialogue, of which Rowling approved. One of the lines originally included had to be removed after Rowling told him that it would directly contradict an event in the then-unreleased fifth Harry Potter novel Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Several minor characters have been removed from the film version, most prominent among them the spectral History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns, and Peeves the poltergeist. The book's first chapter is from the viewpoint of Vernon and Petunia Dursley the day before they are given Harry to look after, highlighting how non-magical people react to magic. The film removes this, beginning with Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Hagrid leaving Harry with the Dursleys (although McGonagall tells Dumbledore how she had been watching the Dursleys all day). Harry's less than pleasant times at Mrs. Figg's are cut from the film while the boa constrictor from Brazil in the zoo becomes a Burmese Python in the film. Some conflicts, such as Harry and Draco's encounter with each other in Madam Malkin's robe shop and midnight duel, are not in the film. Some of Nicolas Flamel's role is changed or cut altogether. Norbert is mentioned to have been taken away by Dumbledore in the film; whilst the book sees Harry and Hermione have to take him by hand to Charlie Weasley's friends. Rowling described the scene as "the one part of the book that she felt [could easily] be changed". As a result, the reason for the detention in the Forbidden Forest was changed: In the novel, Harry and Hermione are put in detention for being caught by Filch when leaving the Astronomy Tower after hours, Neville and Malfoy are given detention when caught in the corridor by Professor McGonagall. In the film, Harry, Hermione and Ron receive detention after Malfoy catches them in Hagrid's hut after hours (Malfoy however, is given detention for being out of bed after hours). Firenze the centaur, who is described in the book as being palomino with light blonde hair, is shown to be dark in the film. The Quidditch pitch is altered from a traditional stadium to an open field circled by spectator towers. In the trio's final quest for the Philosopher's Stone, Hermione's test, solving a logic problem about a row of bottles, is omitted. Distribution Marketing The first teaser poster was released on 1 December 2000. The first teaser trailer was released via satellite on 2 March 2001 and debuted in cinemas with the release of See Spot Run. The soundtrack was released on 30 October 2001 in a CD format. A video game based on the film was released on 15 November 2001 by Electronic Arts for several consoles. A port for the game, for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox was released in 2003. Mattel won the rights to produce toys based on the film, to be sold exclusively through Warner Brothers' stores. Hasbro also produced products, including confectionery products based on those from the series. Warner Bros. signed a deal worth US$150 million with Coca-Cola to promote the film, and Lego produced a series of sets based on buildings and scenes from the film, as well as a Lego Creator video game. Home media Warner Bros. first released the film on VHS and DVD on 11 February 2002 in the E3 UK 11 May 2002 in the UK and 28 May 2002 in the US. The VHS and DVD (The Special Edition) was re-released in 7 May 2004 An Ultimate Edition was later released exclusively in the US that included a Blu-ray and DVD. The release contains an extended version of the film, with many of the deleted scenes edited back in; additionally, the set includes the existing special features disc, Radcliffe's, Grint's, and Watson's first screen tests, a feature-length special Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 1: The Magic Begins, and a 48-page hardcover booklet. The extended version has a running time of about 159 minutes, which has previously been shown during certain television airings. Between May and June 2002, the film sold 10 million copies, almost 60% of which were DVD sales. Reception Box office The film had its world premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 4 November 2001, with the cinema arranged to resemble Hogwarts School. The film was greatly received at the box office. In the United States, it made $32.3 million on its opening day, breaking the single day record previously held by Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. On the second day of release, the film's gross increased to $33.5 million, breaking the record for biggest single day again. In total, it made $90.3 million during its first weekend, breaking the record for highest-opening weekend of all time that was previously held by The Lost World: Jurassic Park. It held the record until the following May when Spider-Man made $114.8 million in its opening weekend. The film held onto the No. 1 spot at the box-office for three consecutive weekends. The film also had the highest grossing 5-day (Wednesday-Sunday) Thanksgiving weekend record of $82.4 million, holding the title for twelve years until both The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen surpassed it with $110.1 million and $94 million respectively. Similar results were achieved across the world. In the United Kingdom, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone broke the record for the highest-opening weekend ever, both including and excluding previews, making £16.3 million with and £9.8 million without previews. The film went on to make £66.1 million in the UK alone, making it the country's second highest-grossing film of all-time (after Titanic), until it was surpassed by Mamma Mia!. In total, the film earned $974.8 million at the worldwide box office, $317.6 million of that in the US and $657.2 million elsewhere, which made it the second highest-grossing film in history at the time, as well as the year's highest-grossing film. As of 2018, it is the unadjusted thirty-fourth highest-grossing film of all-time and the second highest-grossing Harry Potter film to date after Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold over 55.9 million tickets in the US. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 81% based on 195 reviews, with an average rating of 7.06/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone adapts its source material faithfully while condensing the novel's overstuffed narrative into an involving – and often downright exciting – big-screen magical caper." On Metacritic the film has a score of 64 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Roger Ebert called Philosopher's Stone "a classic," giving the film four out of four stars, and particularly praising the Quidditch scenes' visual effects. Praise was echoed by both The Telegraph and Empire reviewers, with Alan Morrison of the latter naming it the film's "stand-out sequence". Brian Linder of IGN.com also gave the film a positive review, but concluded that it "isn't perfect, but for me it's a nice supplement to a book series that I love". Although criticising the final half-hour, Jeanne Aufmuth of Palo Alto Online stated that the film would "enchant even the most cynical of moviegoers." USA Today reviewer Claudia Puig gave the film three out of four stars, especially praising the set design and Robbie Coltrane's portrayal of Hagrid, but criticised John Williams' score and concluded "ultimately many of the book's readers may wish for a more magical incarnation." The sets, design, cinematography, effects and principal cast were all given praise from Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter, although he deemed John Williams' score "a great clanging, banging music box that simply will not shut up." Todd McCarthy of Variety compared the film positively with Gone with the Wind and put "The script is faithful, the actors are just right, the sets, costumes, makeup and effects match and sometimes exceed anything one could imagine." Jonathan Foreman of the New York Post recalled that the film was "remarkably faithful," to its literary counterpart as well as a "consistently entertaining if overlong adaptation." Richard Corliss of Time magazine, considered the film a "by the numbers adaptation," criticising the pace and the "charisma-free" lead actors. CNN's Paul Tatara found that Columbus and Kloves "are so careful to avoid offending anyone by excising a passage from the book, the so-called narrative is more like a jamboree inside Rowling's head." Nathaniel Rogers of The Film Experience gave the film a negative review and wrote: "Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone is as bland as movies can get." Ed Gonzalez of Slant Magazine wished that the film had been directed by Tim Burton, finding the cinematography "bland and muggy," and the majority of the film a "solidly dull celebration of dribbling goo." Elvis Mitchell of The New York Times was highly negative about the film, saying "[the film] is like a theme park that's a few years past its prime; the rides clatter and groan with metal fatigue every time they take a curve." He also said it suffered from "a lack of imagination" and wooden characters, adding, "The Sorting Hat has more personality than anything else in the movie." Accolades The film received three Academy Award nominations: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score for John Williams. The film was also nominated for seven BAFTA Awards. These were Best British Film, Best Supporting Actor for Robbie Coltrane, as well as the awards for Best Costume Design, Production Design, Makeup and Hair, Sound and Visual Effects. The film won a Saturn Award for its costumes, and was nominated for eight more awards. It won other awards from the Casting Society of America and the Costume Designers Guild. It was nominated for the AFI Film Award for its special effects, and the Art Directors Guild Award for its production design. It received the Broadcast Film Critics Award for Best Live Action Family Film and was nominated for Best Child Performance (for Daniel Radcliffe) and Best Composer (John Williams). In 2005 the American Film Institute nominated the film for AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 1998 novel of the same name. The film is a sequel to the 2001 film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series. It was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger and is also the last film to feature Richard Harris as Professor Albus Dumbledore, due to his death that same year. Its story follows Harry Potter's second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Heir of Salazar Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets, unleashing a monster that petrifies the school's denizens. The film was released in theatres in the United Kingdom and the United States on 15 November 2002. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing $879 million at the box office worldwide. It was the second highest-grossing film of 2002 behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. The movie was nominated for many awards including the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, Best Sound, and Best Special Visual Effects. It was followed by six sequels, beginning with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004 and ending with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 in 2011, nearly ten years after the first film's release. Plot Harry Potter spends the summer with The Dursleys without receiving letters from his Hogwarts friends. In his room, Harry meets Dobby, a house-elf who warns him of a peril that will take shape if he returns to Hogwarts. Dobby reveals that he intercepted his friends' letters, and destroys a cake in order to prevent his return to school. The Dursleys lock Harry up, but Ron Weasley and his older twin brothers, Fred and George, rescue him in their father's flying Ford Anglia. While purchasing school supplies, Harry and the Weasley family encounter Rubeus Hagrid and Hermione Granger. They attend a book-signing by celebrity wizard Gilderoy Lockhart, who announces that he will be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. During a small confrontation with Draco Malfoy, Harry meets Malfoy's father, Lucius, who discreetly slips a book into Ginny Weasley's belongings, which only Harry sees, but he mentions this to no one. When Harry and Ron are blocked from entering Platform Nine and Three-Quarters, they fly to Hogwarts in the flying car. They crash into the Whomping Willow upon arrival, and Ron's wand is broken. Both boys narrowly avoid expulsion when Professor McGonagall gives them detention. During the detention, Harry hears strange voices and later finds caretaker Argus Filch's cat, Mrs. Norris, petrified, along with a message written in blood announcing the "Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware". McGonagall explains that one of Hogwarts' founders, Salazar Slytherin, supposedly constructed a secret Chamber. He placed a monster inside that only his Heir can control, capable of purging the school of muggle-born wizards and witches. Harry and Ron suspect Malfoy as the Heir, so Hermione suggests they question him while disguised using polyjuice potion. They utilise a disused bathroom haunted by a ghost, Moaning Myrtle, as their makeshift laboratory to brew the potion. When Harry communicates with a snake, the school believes he is the Heir. On Christmas Day, Harry and Ron learn that Malfoy is not the Heir, but he mentions that a muggle-born girl died when the Chamber was last opened fifty years ago. Harry finds an enchanted diary owned by former Hogwarts student Tom Riddle, which contains a flashback fifty years prior where Riddle accused Hagrid, then a student, of opening the Chamber. When the diary is stolen and Hermione is petrified, Harry and Ron question Hagrid. Professor Dumbledore, Cornelius Fudge, and Lucius come to take Hagrid to Azkaban, but he discreetly tells the boys to "follow the spiders". In the Forbidden Forest, Harry and Ron meet Hagrid's giant pet spider, Aragog, who reveals Hagrid's innocence and provides them a small clue about the Chamber's monster. A book page in Hermione's hand identifies the monster as a basilisk, a giant serpent that instantly kills those that make direct eye contact with it; the petrified victims only saw it indirectly. The school staff learn that Ginny was taken into the Chamber, and convince Lockhart to save her. Harry and Ron find Lockhart, exposed as a fraud, planning to flee; knowing Myrtle was the girl the Basilisk killed, they take him to the bathroom and find the Chamber's entrance. Once inside, Lockhart uses Ron's broken wand against them, but it backfires, wipes his memory, and causes a cave-in. Harry enters the Chamber alone and finds Ginny unconscious, guarded by Riddle. Riddle reveals that he used the diary to manipulate Ginny and reopen the Chamber. When Riddle creates the anagram for his future new identity, "I am Lord Voldemort", Harry realises that Riddle himself is Slytherin's heir and Voldemort's true identity. After Harry expresses support for Dumbledore, Fawkes flies in with the Sorting Hat, causing Riddle to summon the Basilisk. Fawkes blinds the Basilisk, allowing Harry to look at it directly without being killed or petrified. The Sorting Hat eventually produces the Sword of Gryffindor, with which Harry battles and slays the Basilisk, though he is injured by one of its fangs. Harry defeats Riddle and revives Ginny by stabbing the diary with the basilisk fang. Fawkes's tears heal him, and he returns to Hogwarts with his friends and a baffled Lockhart. Dumbledore praises them and orders Hagrid's release. Dumbledore shows Harry the sword he wielded was Godric Gryffindor's own sword, and says he is different from Voldemort because he chose Gryffindor instead of Slytherin. Harry accuses Lucius, Dobby's master, of planting the diary in Ginny's cauldron, and tricks him into freeing Dobby. The Basilisk's victims are healed, Hermione reunites with Harry and Ron, and Hagrid is released from Azkaban. In a post-credits scene, Lockhart is seen in a straitjacket, having published a new book: Who Am I?. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a 12-year-old British wizard famous for surviving his parents' murder at the hands of the evil wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant, who now enters his second year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best male friend at Hogwarts and a younger member of the Weasley wizarding family. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's precocious Muggle-born best friend. Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart, a celebrity author and the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Hugh Grant is said to have been the first choice for the role but due to reported scheduling conflicts he was unable to play the character. On 25 October 2001, Branagh was selected as Grant's replacement. John Cleese as Nearly Headless Nick, the ghost patron of Gryffindor House. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Martin Bayfield portrays a young Hagrid. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's abusive Muggle (non-magical) uncle, who despises wizards and now works as a drill company director. Richard Harris as Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the greatest wizards of the age. Harris died shortly before the film was released. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Lucius' son. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father and a former Hogwarts pupil of Slytherin House who now works as a school governor at Hogwarts. Isaacs also voiced the Basilisk. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions teacher at Hogwarts and head of Slytherin. Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, the Weasley matriarch and a mother figure to Harry. Production Direction Although Chris Columbus returned to direct, Frank Oz said in an interview with The A.V. Club that he was asked to direct this film but he had no interest in it. Set design Production designer Stuart Craig returned for the sequel to design new elements previously not seen in the first film. These included the Burrow (the Weasleys' house), Dumbledore's office (which houses the Sorting Hat, The Sword of Gryffindor and Dumbledore's desk), Borgin and Burkes, and the Chamber of Secrets. Mr. Weasley's flying car was created from a 1962 Ford Anglia 105E. Filming Principal photography for Chamber of Secrets began on 19 November 2001, only three days after the wide release of the first film. The first three weeks of shooting consisted mostly of second-unit work on special effects, primarily the flying car scene. First-unit photography then began in Surrey, England, at Number Four Privet Drive, Little Whinging, for scenes taking place at the Dursleys' home. Filming continued on location at the Isle of Man and in several places in Great Britain; Leavesden Film Studios in London made several scenes for Hogwarts. Other locations were shot in England, including a Hogwarts Express set in King's Cross railway station Platform 9¾. The famous cloisters of England's Gloucester Cathedral were used as the setting for Hogwarts School. Originally, a scene in which Lucius Malfoy is confronted in Dumbledore's office ended sooner but the final exchange was ad-libbed. Jason Isaacs felt his character would've said something after being humiliated, and Columbus asked him to try. According to Isaacs, he improvised, "Let us hope Mr. Potter will always be around to save the day." Isaacs was impressed by Daniel Radcliffe's maturation as an actor based on his own improvised line, "Don't worry. I will be." University of Cambridge linguistics professor Francis Nolan was hired to construct the Parseltongue language for the scenes where Harry talks to snakes. Principal photography wrapped in the summer of 2002, while the film spent until early October in post-production. In a change of cinematography from the first instalment, director Chris Columbus opted to use handheld cameras for Chamber of Secrets to allow more freedom in movement. Sound design Due to the events that take place in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the film's sound effects were much more expansive than in the previous instalment. Sound designer and co-supervising sound editor Randy Thom returned for the sequel using Pro Tools to complete the job, which included initial conceptions done at Skywalker Sound in California and primary work done at Shepperton Studios in England. Music John Williams, who composed the previous film's score, returned to score Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Scoring the film proved to be a difficult task. Williams had just completed scoring Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Minority Report when work was to begin on Catch Me If You Can. Because of this, William Ross was brought in to arrange themes from the Philosopher's Stone into the new material that Williams was composing whenever he had the chance. The soundtrack was released on 12 November 2002. Distribution Marketing Footage for the film began appearing online in the summer of 2002, with a teaser trailer debuting in cinemas with the release of Scooby-Doo. A video game based on the film was released in early November 2002 by Electronic Arts for several consoles, including GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. The film also continued the merchandising success set by its predecessor, with the reports of shortages on Lego's Chamber of Secrets tie-ins. Theatrical release The film premiered in the UK on 3 November 2002 and in the United States and Canada on 14 November 2002 before its wide release on 15 November, one year after the Philosopher's Stone. Home media The film was originally released in the UK, US and Canada on 11 April 2003 on both VHS tape and in a two-disc special edition DVD digipack, which included extended and deleted scenes and interviews. On 11 December 2007, the film's Blu-ray version was released. An Ultimate Edition of the film was released on 8 December 2009, featuring new footage, TV spots, an extended version of the film with deleted scenes edited in, and a feature-length special Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 2: Characters. The film's extended version has a running time of about 174 minutes, which has previously been shown during certain television airings. Reception Box office The film broke multiple records upon its opening. In the US and Canada, the film opened to an $88.4 million opening weekend at 3,682 cinemas, the third largest opening at the time, behind Spider-Man and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It was also No. 1 at the box office for two non-consecutive weekends. In the United Kingdom, the film broke all opening records that were previously held by Philosopher's Stone. It made £18.9 million during its opening including previews and £10.9 million excluding previews. It went on to make £54.8 million in the UK; at the time, the fifth biggest tally of all time in the region. The film made a total of $879 million worldwide, which made it the fifth highest-grossing film ever at the time (behind Titanic, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Jurassic Park). It was 2002's second highest-grossing film worldwide behind The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the fourth highest-grossing film in the US and Canada that year with $262 million behind Spider-Man, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, and Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones. However, it was the year's number one film at the non-American box office, making $617 million compared to The Two Towers' $584.5 million. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 82% based on 234 reviews, with an average rating of 7.21/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Though perhaps more enchanting for younger audiences, Chamber of Secrets is nevertheless both darker and livelier than its predecessor, expanding and improving upon the first film's universe." On Metacritic the film has a score of 63 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale. It is the highest rated Harry Potter film at CinemaScore. Roger Ebert called The Chamber of Secrets "a phenomenal film" and gave the film 4 out of 4 stars, especially praising the set design. Entertainment Weekly commended the film for being better and darker than its predecessor: "And among the things this Harry Potter does very well indeed is deepen the darker, more frightening atmosphere for audiences. This is as it should be: Harry's story is supposed to get darker". Richard Roeper praised the directing and the film's faithfulness to the book, saying: "Chris Columbus, the director, does a real wonderful job of being faithful to the story but also taking it into a cinematic era". Variety also said the film was excessively long, but praised it for being darker and more dramatic, saying that its confidence and intermittent flair to give it a life of its own apart from the books was something The Philosopher's Stone never achieved. A. O. Scott from The New York Times said: "instead of feeling stirred you may feel battered and worn down, but not, in the end, too terribly disappointed". Peter Travers from Rolling Stone condemned the film for being over-long and too faithful to the book: "Once again, director Chris Columbus takes a hat-in-hand approach to Rowling that stifles creativity and allows the film to drag on for nearly three hours". Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times called the film a cliché which is "deja vu all over again, it's likely that whatever you thought of the first production – pro or con – you'll likely think of this one". Accolades The film was nominated for three BAFTA Awards. These were for Best Production Design, Sound, and Achievement in Visual Effects. The film was nominated for two awards at the inaugural Visual Effects Society Awards in the categories of "Best Character Animation in a Live Action Motion Picture" and "Best Compositing in a Motion Picture". The film was also nominated for six Saturn Awards in 2003 and in 2004 for its DVD release. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 1999 novel of the same name. The film, which is the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman, and Mark Radcliffe. The story follows Harry Potter's third year at Hogwarts as he is informed that a prisoner named Sirius Black has escaped from Azkaban and intends to kill him. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It also features well-known actors in supporting roles, including Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney and Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and is followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The film was released on 31 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and on 4 June 2004 in North America, as the first Harry Potter film released into IMAX theatres and to be using IMAX Technology. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Music Score and Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards in 2004. Prisoner of Azkaban grossed a total of $796.9 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 2004 and received praise for Cuarón's direction and the performances of the lead actors. It marked a notable change in the film series' tone and directing, and is considered by many critics and fans to be one of the best Harry Potter films. Plot Harry Potter has been spending another dissatisfying summer with The Dursleys. When Harry's Aunt Marge insults his parents, he loses his temper and silently wills her to bloat up and float away. Fed up, Harry then flees the Dursleys with his luggage. The Knight Bus delivers Harry to the Leaky Cauldron, where he is pardoned by Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge for using magic outside of Hogwarts. After reuniting with his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry learns that Sirius Black, a convicted supporter of the dark wizard Lord Voldemort, has escaped Azkaban prison and intends to kill Harry. The trio return to Hogwarts for the school year on the Hogwarts Express, only for dementors to suddenly board the train, searching for Sirius. One enters the trio's compartment, causing Harry to pass out, but new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher Professor Lupin repels the dementor with a Patronus Charm. At Hogwarts, headmaster Albus Dumbledore announces that dementors will be guarding the school while Sirius is at large. Hogwarts groundskeeper Rubeus Hagrid is announced as the new Care of Magical Creatures teacher; his first class goes awry when Draco Malfoy deliberately provokes the hippogriff Buckbeak, who attacks him. Draco exaggerates his injury, and his father Lucius Malfoy later has Buckbeak sentenced to death. The Fat Lady's portrait, which guards the Gryffindor quarters, is found ruined and empty. Terrified and hiding in another painting, she tells Dumbledore that Sirius has entered the castle. During a stormy Quidditch match against Hufflepuff, dementors attack Harry, causing him to fall off his broomstick. At Hogsmeade, Harry is shocked to learn that not only had Sirius been his father's best friend and apparently betrayed them to Voldemort, but is also Harry's godfather. Lupin privately teaches Harry to defend himself against dementors, using the Patronus Charm. After Harry, Ron, and Hermione witness Buckbeak's execution, Ron's pet rat Scabbers bites him and escapes. When Ron gives chase, a large dog appears and drags both Ron and Scabbers into a hole at the Whomping Willow's base. This leads the trio to an underground passage of the Shrieking Shack, where they discover that the dog is actually Sirius, who is an Animagus. Lupin arrives and embraces Sirius as an old friend. He admits to being a werewolf, and explains that Sirius is innocent. Sirius was falsely accused of betraying the Potters to Voldemort, as well as murdering twelve Muggles and their mutual friend, Peter Pettigrew. It is revealed that Scabbers is actually Pettigrew, an Animagus who betrayed the Potters and committed the murders. After forcing him back into human form, Lupin and Sirius prepare to kill him, but Harry convinces them to turn Pettigrew over to the dementors. As the group departs, the full moon rises and Lupin transforms into a werewolf. Sirius transforms into his dog form to fight him off. In the midst of the chaos, Pettigrew transforms back into a rat and escapes. Harry and Sirius are attacked by dementors, and Harry sees a figure in the distance save them by casting a powerful Patronus spell. He believes the mysterious figure is his deceased father before passing out. He awakens to discover that Sirius has been captured and sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss. Acting on Dumbledore's advice, Harry and Hermione travel back in time with Hermione's Time Turner, and watch themselves and Ron repeat the night's events. They save Buckbeak from execution and witness the Dementors overpower Harry and Sirius. The present Harry realises that it was actually him who conjured the Patronus, and does so again. Harry and Hermione rescue Sirius, who escapes with Buckbeak. Exposed as a werewolf, Lupin resigns from teaching to prevent an uproar from parents. He also returned the Marauder's Map back to Harry, given he no longer has the authority to confiscate contrabands. Sirius sends Harry a Firebolt broom, and he happily takes it for a ride. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a 13-year-old British wizard famous for surviving his parents' murder at the hands of the evil dark wizard Lord Voldemort as an infant, who now enters his third year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's Muggle-born best friend and the trio's brains. Julie Christie as Madam Rosmerta, the short-tempered landlady of the Three Broomsticks pub in Hogsmeade. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the gamekeeper and new Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts and one of the greatest wizards of the age. Gambon assumed the role after Richard Harris, who played Dumbledore in the previous two films, died on 25 October 2002, 3 weeks before the 2nd film's release. Despite his illness, Harris was determined to film his part, telling a visiting David Heyman not to recast the role. Four months after Harris's death, Cuarón chose Gambon as his replacement. Gambon was unconcerned with bettering or copying Harris, instead giving his own interpretation, putting on a slight Irish accent for the role, as well as completing his scenes in three weeks. Rumours of Ian McKellen being offered the role started to spread, but when asked he rejected the rumours and stated he had played a similar character in Gandalf of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He also stated it would have been inappropriate to take Harris's role, as the late actor had called McKellen a "dreadful" actor. Harris's family had expressed an interest in seeing Harris's close friend Peter O'Toole being chosen as his replacement. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle uncle. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's infamous godfather, who escapes from the Wizarding prison Azkaban after serving twelve years there for being falsely accused of being the Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. Oldman accepted the part because he needed the money, as he had not taken on any major work in several years after deciding to spend more time with his children. He was "surprised by how difficult it was to pull off", comparing the role to Shakespearean dialogue. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions teacher at Hogwarts and head of Slytherin. Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts, the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts and head of Gryffindor. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Harry's arch rival and a Slytherin house student. Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, a friend of Harry's parents said to have been killed by Sirius Black, but was later revealed to have been the real Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts and a werewolf. Thewlis, who had previously auditioned for the role of Quirinus Quirrell in Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was Cuarón's first choice for the role of Professor Lupin. He accepted the role on advice from Ian Hart, who was cast as Quirrell, and had told him that Professor Lupin was "the best part in the book." Thewlis had seen the first two films and had only read part of the first book, although after taking the role he read the third. Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Production Development With Prisoner of Azkaban, production of the Harry Potter films switched to an eighteen-month cycle, which producer David Heyman explained was "to give each [film] the time it required." Chris Columbus, the director of the previous two films, decided not to return to helm the third instalment as he "hadn't seen [his] own kids for supper in the week for about two and a half years." Even so, he remained on as a producer alongside Heyman. Guillermo del Toro was approached to direct but considered the film "so bright and happy and full of light, that [he] wasn't interested." Marc Forster turned down the film because he had made Finding Neverland and did not want to direct child actors again. M. Night Shyamalan was considered to direct but turned it down because he was working on his own film, The Village. Warner Bros. then composed a three-name short list for Columbus's replacement, which comprised Callie Khouri, Kenneth Branagh (who played Gilderoy Lockhart in Chamber of Secrets) and eventual selection Alfonso Cuarón. Cuarón was initially nervous about accepting, as he had not read any of the books or seen the films. After reading the series, he changed his mind and signed on to direct, as he had immediately connected to the story. Cuarón's appointment pleased J. K. Rowling who loved his film Y Tu Mamá También and was impressed with his adaptation of A Little Princess. Heyman found that "tonally and stylistically, [Cuarón] was the perfect fit." As his first exercise with the actors who portray the central trio, Cuarón assigned Radcliffe, Grint and Watson to write an autobiographical essay about their character, written in the first person, spanning birth to the discovery of the magical world, and including the character's emotional experience. Of Rupert Grint's essay, Cuarón recalls, "Rupert didn't deliver the essay. When I questioned why he didn't do it, he said, 'I'm Ron; Ron wouldn't do it.' So I said, 'Okay, you do understand your character.' That was the most important piece of acting work that we did on Prisoner of Azkaban, because it was very clear that everything they put in those essays was going to be the pillars they were going to hold on to for the rest of the process." Filming Principal photography began on 24 February 2003, at Leavesden Film Studios, and wrapped in October 2003. The third film was the first to extensively utilise real-life locations, as much of the first two films had been shot in the studio. Some sets for the film were built in Glen Coe, Scotland, near the Clachaig Inn. The indoor sets, including ones built for the previous two films, are mainly in Leavesden Film Studios. The Hogwarts Lake was filmed from Loch Shiel, Loch Eilt and Loch Morar in the Scottish Highlands. Incidentally, the train bridge, which was also featured in the Chamber of Secrets, is opposite Loch Shiel and was used to film the sequences when the Dementor boarded the train. A small section of the triple-decker bus scene, where it weaves in between traffic, was filmed in North London's Palmers Green. Some parts were also filmed in and around Borough Market and Lambeth Bridge in London. Hogwarts grew and expanded significantly with the third film. For the first time, the Hogwarts courtyard and bridge were seen. At the end of the bridge, rock monoliths were placed onto the hillside to evoke a Celtic feeling. The use of live-action also significantly changed the look of Hagrid's hut. In the first two films, it appeared at the end of a flat stretch, right in front of the Forbidden Forest. The third film utilised the more rugged Scottish locations to place Hagrid's hut at the bottom of a steep hillside. A large pumpkin patch was added behind the hut. The Honeydukes set in this film is a redress of the set of Flourish & Blotts that was seen in Chamber of Secrets, which, in turn, was a redress of the Ollivanders set from the first film. Rowling allowed Cuarón to make minor changes to the book, on the condition that he stuck to the book's spirit. She allowed him to place a sundial on Hogwarts' grounds, but rejected a graveyard, as that would play an important part in the then unreleased sixth book. Rowling said she "got goosebumps" when she saw several moments in the film, as they inadvertently referred to events in the final two books, she stated "people are going to look back on the film and think that those were put in deliberately as clues." When filming concluded, Cuarón found that it had "been the two sweetest years of my life," and expressed his interest in directing one of the sequels. Effects Cuarón originally wanted to move away from CGI toward puppetry. He hired master underwater puppeteer Basil Twist to help, using puppets to study the potential movement of the Dementors. Once it became apparent that puppetry would be too expensive and unable to portray the specific elements of the Dementors, Cuarón turned to CGI; however, he and his team did use footage of Dementor puppets underwater as a basis for the flowing movements of the computer-generated Dementors. The Knight Bus segment when Harry is being taken to The Leaky Cauldron uses the technique known as bullet time, popularised in The Matrix series of films. This segment takes humorous advantage of the magic quality of the Harry Potter world by having the Muggle world go into bullet time while inside the Knight Bus, Harry, Stan Shunpike and Ernie Prang (and the talking shrunken head) keep moving in real time. Music The Academy Award-nominated score was the third and final score in the series to be composed and conducted by John Williams. It was released on CD on 25 May 2004. In general, this film's music is not as bright as that of the previous films, with distinct medieval influences in the instrumentation. One of the new themes, "Double Trouble," was written during production so that a children's choir could perform it in Hogwarts's Great Hall in one of the film's earlier scenes. The lyrics of "Double Trouble" are from a ritual performed by the Weïrd Sisters in Act 4, Scene 1 of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The film's trailer prominently features the cues "Anticipation" and "Progeny" by Brand X Music, a trailer music band. Differences from the book Prisoner of Azkaban was, at the time of publication, the series' longest book. The increasing plot complexity necessitated a looser adaptation of the book's finer plot lines and back-story. The film opens with Harry using magic to light his wand in short bursts, whereas in the same scene in the book, he uses a torch/flashlight, as performing magic outside the wizard world is illegal for wizards under the age of seventeen. The connection between Harry's parents and the Marauder's Map is only briefly mentioned, as is Remus Lupin's association to both the map and James Potter. Additionally, it was never mentioned who the Marauders were or who the nicknames Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs referred to. Some exposition was removed for dramatic effect: both the Shrieking Shack and Scabbers the rat are mentioned only very briefly in the film, while they receive a more thorough coverage in the novel. Most of Sirius Black's back story is also cut, with no mention of the manner of his escape from Azkaban. Only the first Quidditch game was kept in the film, due to its importance to the storyline; the second (Gryffindor/Ravenclaw) and third (Gryffindor/Slytherin) were cut. Thus, Harry receives the Firebolt at the film's end, while in the book he receives it anonymously at Christmas and it is confiscated for a few weeks to be checked for possible jinxes by Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch. On account of pace and time considerations, the film glosses over detailed descriptions of magical education. Only one Hippogriff, Buckbeak, is seen, and only Malfoy and Harry are seen interacting with the Hippogriff during Care of Magical Creatures lessons, and most other lessons, including all of Snape's potions classes, were cut from the film. The Fidelius Charm's complicated description is removed entirely from the film, with no explanation given of exactly how Sirius is supposed to have betrayed the Potters to Lord Voldemort. Many of this scene's lines are redistributed amongst Cornelius Fudge and Minerva McGonagall; in compensation, McGonagall's exposition of the Animagus transformation is instead given by Snape. In the film, where Harry and Hermione have travelled back in time and are hiding outside of Hagrid's hut, it is heavily implied that Dumbledore somehow knows that they are there, as he distracts the other characters at key moments or slows down the proceedings (such as by suggesting that he sign Buckbeak's execution order as well, then after Fudge agrees he says it will take some time as he has an extremely long name), which allows Harry and Hermione time to free Buckbeak unseen. In the book, Dumbledore merely comments that the executioner must sign the order, right before he is about to leave the cabin to execute Buckbeak. The embryonic romantic connection between Ron and Hermione is more prominent in the film than the book; in response to criticism of the first two films for sacrificing character development for mystery and adventure, the emotional development of all three lead characters is given more attention in the third film. That said, any mention of the beginnings of Harry's crush on Cho Chang is removed. Chang herself is not even seen until the next film. Harry's darker side is first glimpsed in this film, when Harry proclaims, "I hope he [Black] finds me. Cause when he does, I'm going to be ready. When he does, I'm going to kill him!" Distribution Marketing As with the series' previous instalments, Prisoner of Azkaban was a large merchandising opportunity. The video game version, designed by EA UK, was released 25 May 2004 in North America and 29 May 2004 in Europe. Mattel released film tie-ins that included the Harry Potter Championship Quidditch board game and character action figures. Lego also expanded on its previous merchandising for the first two films with the release of sets ranging from the Knight Bus to the Shrieking Shack. Theatrical release Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban held its New York premiere at Radio City Music Hall on 23 May 2004, followed by its London premiere at Leicester Square on 30 May 2004. The film then opened in the United Kingdom on 31 May 2004 and on 4 June 2004 in the United States. It was the first film in the series to be released in both conventional and IMAX theatres. Reception Box office Upon release, the film broke the record for biggest single day in the United Kingdom's box office history making £5.3 million on a Monday. It went on to break records both with and without previews, making £23.9 million including previews and £9.3 million excluding them. Prisoner of Azkaban had the highest-opening weekend at the UK's box office, until Spectre beat the record in 2015. It went on to make a total of £45.6 million in the UK. The film made $93.7 million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada at 3,855 theatres, achieving, at the time, the third biggest-opening weekend of all time. This opening also broke Hulk's record ($62.1 million) for the highest-opening weekend for a film released in June. Prisoner of Azkaban held this record for five years until Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen topped it in 2009 with $108.9 million. The film was also No. 1 at the North American box office for two consecutive weekends. Prisoner of Azkaban made a total of $796.7 million worldwide, which made it 2004's second-highest-grossing film worldwide behind Shrek 2. In the U.S. and Canada, it was only the year's sixth-highest-grossing film, making $249.5 million. Everywhere else in the world, however, it was the year's number one film, making $547 million compared to Shrek 2's $478.6 million. Despite its successful box office run, Azkaban is the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film (all the others have grossed more than $800 million worldwide) and the second lowest-grossing film of the Wizarding World series (behind Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald). Critical response Prisoner of Azkaban is often regarded by critics and fans as one of the best films in the franchise. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 255 reviews, with an average rating of 7.84/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Under the assured direction of Alfonso Cuarón, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban triumphantly strikes a delicate balance between technical wizardry and complex storytelling." On Metacritic the film has a score of 82 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle lauded the film's more mature tone and said it was "darker, more complex, rooted in character." The Hollywood Reporter called the film "a deeper, darker, visually arresting and more emotionally satisfying adaptation of the J.K. Rowling literary phenomenon," especially compared to the first two installments. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars: "Not only is this dazzler by far the best and most thrilling of the three Harry Potter movies to date, it's a film that can stand on its own even if you never heard of author J.K. Rowling and her young wizard hero." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com asserts it to be "one of the greatest fantasy films of all time." Nicole Arthur of The Washington Post praised the film as "complex, frightening, [and] nuanced." Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars, saying that the film was not quite as good as the first two, but still called it "delightful, amusing and sophisticated." Claudia Puig from USA Today found the film to be "a visual delight," and added that "Cuarón is not afraid to make a darker film and tackle painful emotions." while Richard Roeper called the film "a creative triumph." Sean Smith from Newsweek said: "The Prisoner of Azkaban boasts a brand-new director and a bold new vision," he also called the film "moving," praising the performances by the three main leads, while Entertainment Weekly praised the film for being more mature than its predecessors. Accolades Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was nominated for Best Original Music Score (John Williams) and Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards held in 2005. This was the second film in the series to be nominated for an Oscar. The film also ranks at No. 471 in Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time. IGN designated Prisoner of Azkaban as the fifth best fantasy film. Additionally, Moviefone designated the film as the tenth best of the decade. In 2011, the film was voted Film of the Decade at the First Light Awards by children aged 5–15. American Film Institute recognition AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – Nominated AFI's 10 Top 10 – Nominated Fantasy Film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a 2005 fantasy film directed by Mike Newell and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 2000 novel of the same name. The film, which is the fourth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman. The story follows Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts as he is chosen by the Goblet of Fire to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. The film is the first of the series to receive a PG-13 certificate in the US, and a 12A in the UK, and stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and is followed by Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Filming began in early 2004. The Hogwarts scenes were shot at the Leavesden Film Studios. Five days after its release, the film had grossed over US$102 million at the North American box office, which is the third-highest first-weekend tally for a Harry Potter film behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and Part 2. Goblet of Fire enjoyed an immensely successful run at the box office, earning $897 million worldwide, which made it the highest-grossing film of 2005 and the eighth-highest-grossing film of all-time at that time and the sixth-highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction, and won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design. Goblet of Fire was the second film in the series to be released in IMAX. The film is one of the best reviewed instalments within the series, being praised for the higher level of maturity and sophistication of its characters, plotline, tone, screenplay, and the performances of the lead actors. Harry awakens from a nightmare wherein a man named Frank Bryce is killed after overhearing Lord Voldemort conspiring with Peter Pettigrew and another man. While Harry attends the Quidditch World Cup match between Ireland and Bulgaria with the Weasleys and Hermione, Death Eaters terrorise the camp, and the man who appeared in Harry's dream summons the Dark Mark. At Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore introduces ex-Auror Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He also announces that the school will host an event known as the Triwizard Tournament, in which three magical schools compete across three dangerous challenges. The Goblet of Fire selects "champions" to take part in the competition: Cedric Diggory of Hufflepuff representing Hogwarts, Viktor Krum representing the Durmstrang Institute from Eastern Europe, and Fleur Delacour representing Beauxbatons Academy of Magic from France. The Goblet then unexpectedly selects Harry as a fourth champion. Dumbledore is unable to pull the underage Harry out of the tournament, as Ministry official Barty Crouch Sr. insists that the champions are bound by a contract after being selected. For the first task, each champion must retrieve a golden egg guarded by the dragon they pick. Harry succeeds in retrieving the egg, which contains information about the second challenge. Shortly after, a formal dance event known as the Yule Ball takes place; Harry and Ron attends with Parvati and Padma Patil, Harry's crush Cho Chang attends with Cedric, and Hermione attends with Viktor, making Ron jealous. The second task involves the champions diving underwater to rescue their mates. Harry finishes third, but is promoted to second behind Cedric due to his "moral fibre", after saving Fleur's sister Gabrielle as well as Ron. Afterwards, Harry discovers the corpse of Crouch Sr. in the forest. Later, while waiting for Dumbledore in his office, Harry discovers a Pensieve, which holds Dumbledore's memories. Harry witnesses a trial in which Igor Karkaroff confesses to the Ministry of Magic names of other Death Eaters after Voldemort's defeat. When he names Severus Snape as one, Dumbledore vouches for Snape's innocence; Snape turned spy against Voldemort before the latter's downfall. After Karkaroff names Barty Crouch Jr., a devastated Crouch Sr. imprisons his son in Azkaban. Exiting the Pensieve, Harry realizes that Crouch Jr. is the man he saw in his dream. For the final task, the champions must reach the Triwizard Cup, located in a hedge maze. After Fleur and Viktor are incapacitated, Harry and Cedric reach the cup together. The two claim a draw and together grab the cup, which turns out to be a Portkey and transports them to a graveyard where Pettigrew and Voldemort are waiting. Pettigrew kills Cedric with the Killing Curse and performs a ritual that rejuvenates Voldemort, who then summons the Death Eaters. Voldemort releases Harry and challenges him to a duel to prove he is the better wizard. A vulnerable Harry tries the Expelliarmus charm to block Voldemort's attempted Killing Curse. The beams from their wands entwine and Voldemort's wand disgorges the last spells it performed. The spirits of the people he murdered are seen in the graveyard, including Cedric, and Harry's parents. This distracts Voldemort and his Death Eaters, allowing Harry to use the Portkey and escape with Cedric's body. Harry tells Dumbledore that Voldemort returned and killed Cedric. Moody takes Harry back to his office to interrogate him about Voldemort, inadvertently blowing his cover when he asks Harry about a graveyard, despite Harry not mentioning a graveyard. Moody reveals that he submitted Harry's name to the Goblet of Fire and manipulated Harry throughout the tournament to ensure he would win. Moody attempts to attack Harry, but Dumbledore, Snape, and Minerva McGonagall intervene and subdue him. The teachers force Moody to drink Veritaserum, and he reveals that the real Moody is imprisoned in a magical trunk as his Polyjuice Potion wears off. He is revealed as Crouch Jr. and returned to Azkaban. Dumbledore reveals to the students that Voldemort killed Cedric, although the Ministry of Magic opposes the revelation. Later, Dumbledore visits Harry in his dormitory, apologizing to him for the dangers he endured. Harry reveals that he saw his parents in the graveyard; Dumbledore names this effect as "Priori Incantatem". Soon after Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons bid farewell to each other. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley Emma Watson as Hermione Granger Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore Brendan Gleeson as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy Gary Oldman as Sirius Black Alan Rickman as Severus Snape Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew David Tennant as Barty Crouch, Jr. Robert Pattinson replaced stunt performer/actor Joe Livermore as Hogwarts champion Cedric Diggory, who made a brief appearance in the previous film during a Quidditch sequence. Clémence Poésy plays the role of Beauxbatons champion Fleur Delacour, while Stanislav Ianevski portrays Durmstrang champion and Quidditch star Viktor Krum. Miranda Richardson portrays The Daily Prophet reporter Rita Skeeter. Predrag Bjelac acts as Igor Karkaroff, Headmaster of Durmstrang and a former Death Eater. Frances de la Tour plays the role of Olympe Maxime, Headmistress of Beauxbatons. Production British film director Mike Newell was chosen to direct the film after Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban director Alfonso Cuarón announced that he would only be able to direct one Potter film. In a statement explaining the transition of directors, series producer David Heyman said: When Alfonso made the decision to focus on completing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, we were faced with the daunting task of finding a director to handle the complex challenges of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and to follow in the footsteps of Chris Columbus and Alfonso Cuarón. Mike's rich and diverse body of work show him to be the perfect choice. He has worked with children, made us laugh, and had us sitting on the edge of our seats. He is great with actors and imbues all his characters, all his films, with great humanity. I'm thrilled. Principal photography for Goblet of Fire began on 4 May 2004, although scenes involving the film's principal actors did not begin filming until 25 June 2004 at England's Leavesden Studios. Steve Kloves, the screenwriter for the previous instalments, returned for Goblet of Fire. On adapting the 636-page book into a feature-length film, Kloves commented that "we always thought it would be two movies, but we could never figure out a way to break it in two. So it will be a different experience from the book." Set design Filming in an actual loch would have been too cold and impractical. We looked into doing a process called 'dry for wet,' where you suspend an actor and blow wind on them to give the illusion that they are underwater, but the hair didn't undulate convincingly. —Heyman, on the underwater scenes As in the previous instalments, Stuart Craig and Stephenie McMillan provided the film's set and art designs, respectively. Due to the film's scope, there were many new sets and transformations of old sets created. McMillan was most excited about redesigning the Great Hall for the scenes involving the Yule Ball. "Originally we thought silver curtains, silver table cloths and an ice dance floor," said McMillan, "but it just went on and on. The drapes man eventually said, 'Why not just stick the fabrics on the wall?'" Each task of the Triwizard Tournament required massive sets. The rock quarry set for the first task, where Harry faces off with the Hungarian Horntail, was built in two sections at Leavesden Studios. Craig called it "one of the biggest sets we've ever built for any of the films." For the second task, involving the film's underwater scenes, the film crew designed and built a blue screen tank holding "about half a million gallons of water." As for the final task, which took place in the maze, hedge walls ranging from 20 to 40 feet tall were constructed and enhanced with computer-generated imagery. Music John Williams, who had scored the first three Harry Potter films, could not return for the fourth instalment due to a busy 2005 schedule. Patrick Doyle, who had worked with Newell in Into the West and Donnie Brasco, replaced him as composer. The initial request was that Doyle would be working with Williams' material, but eventually only "Hedwig's Theme", the leitmotif of the series, remained from the previous scores. Pulp lead singer Jarvis Cocker, who was even rumoured to score the film, was one of the musicians invited by Doyle, with whom he had worked in the Great Expectations soundtrack, to write a song for a wizard rock band. Once Doyle chose Cocker's composition, he and other British musicians such as Jonny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead were picked to play the fictional band, both performing songs for the soundtrack and having cameo roles in the film. Differences from the book With the Goblet of Fire novel almost twice the length of Prisoner of Azkaban, the writers and producers reduced certain scenes and concepts to make the transition from page to screen. Director Mike Newell described the problem as one of "compressing a huge book into the compass of a movie". This was achieved by "putting aside" all the components of the novel which did not directly relate to Harry and his journey. Goblet of Fire is the first film adaptation not to begin at Privet Drive; after the opening sequence, Harry awakens at the Burrow on the morning of the Quidditch World Cup. The gameplay at the Quidditch World Cup was removed for timing reasons, leaving an abrupt temporal jump which some reviewers considered awkward or "rushed". In the book, Harry and many of the Weasleys support Ireland, while in the film Harry and Ron support Bulgaria. Nonetheless, both of them admire the Bulgarian seeker Viktor Krum. Other scenes are shortened and amalgamated to include only the most essential plot details: the three Death Eater trials Harry witnesses in the Pensieve are merged into one sequence; the characters of Bill Weasley, Charlie Weasley, Ludo Bagman, Winky, Narcissa Malfoy and Bertha Jorkins are absent, as well as Dobby, who was supposed to help Harry obtain Gillyweed for the second task. Instead, that scene was changed to involve Neville Longbottom. There is no train scene at the end where Rita Skeeter is revealed to be an illegal, unregistered animagus; Harry is never seen either receiving or giving away the 1,000 galleons in prize winnings. All of Sirius Black's lines are condensed into a single fireside conversation. The scene in which Crouch Jr. is taken back to Azkaban is different from the book, in which he was "killed" by a Dementor summoned by Cornelius Fudge. There is also no conversation in which Fudge refuses to believe that Voldemort has returned, so this is explained in the next film. Distribution Marketing An exclusive first-look of the film was shown on ABC during the television premiere of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on 7 May 2005. The first trailer was made available online on 8 May 2005. The international trailer debuted online on 23 August 2005. The video game version, designed by EA UK, was released 8 November 2005. Mattel released a line of action figures and artefacts based on the film. Among these was the first edition of Harry Potter Scene It? containing over 1,000 questions involving the four films. Rating Goblet of Fire was the first film in the series to receive a PG-13 rating by the MPAA for "sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images", M by the ACB and a 12A by the BBFC for its dark themes, fantasy violence, threat and frightening images. Wyrd Sisters lawsuit In the run up to the film, Warner Bros. approached a Canadian folk group called the Wyrd Sisters to obtain permission to use the name THE WEIRD SISTERS for its Harry Potter Band. When a deal could not be made, the Canadian band filed a US$40-million lawsuit against Warner Bros., the North American distributor of the film, as well as the members of the in-movie band (members of the bands Radiohead and Pulp, among others) for the misuse of their group's name. (In a deleted scene, they are simply introduced as "the band that needs no introduction".) The Canadian band also brought an injunction to stop the release of the film in its country as it contained a performance by the identically named fictional rock band. An Ontario judge dismissed this motion, and to avoid further controversy Warner Bros. rendered the band unnamed in the film and many derived products. However, the Winnipeg-based group continued to pursue the lawsuit; lead singer Kim Baryluk stated in her claim that "consumers will assume that the smaller and less famous Canadian band is trying to take advantage of the Harry Potter fame by copying the Harry Potter band's name when in fact the reverse is true." The injunction was dismissed, and the band was ordered to pay costs. As of March 2010, the lawsuit has been settled, the details sealed. Theatrical release Goblet of Fire was the second film in the series to be given a simultaneous release in conventional theatres and IMAX. Dubbed as Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: The IMAX Experience, the film was digitally remastered for IMAX from its 35mm form to take part in a "commercial growth strategy" set up between IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures. The film was released in most countries within a two-week period starting on 18 November 2005 in the United Kingdom and United States, with a 1 December 2005 release in Australia. In the United States, the film opened in a maximum of 3,858 cinemas that included several IMAX screens. The world premiere of the film took place in London, England on 6 November 2005. One of the features of the premiere was an animatronic, fire-breathing Hungarian Horntail. The 40-foot-long dragon, used during the scene where Hagrid leads Harry into the forest a night before the first task, was designed and built by the film's special effects supervisor John Richardson and creature effects & makeup supervisor Nick Dudman. Home media The film was released on DVD in North America on 7 March 2006. It was available in one- and two-disc editions, as well as part of an 8-disc box set that includes all four films made by that time. The bonus disc features three interactive games, as well as seven behind the scenes featurettes. The film was also released in UMD format for PSP. A VHS release occurred at least in New Zealand and Finland, with the film presented in fullscreen. On its first day of release in North America, over 5 million copies were sold, recording a franchise high for first-day sales. Within its first week it sold over a total of 9 million units of combined sales of both the widescreen and full-screen versions of the DVD. The UK edition was released on DVD on 20 March 2006 and became the fastest selling UK DVD ever, selling six copies per second on its first day of release. According to the Official Charts Company, the DVD sold 1.4 million copies in its first week alone. It is also available in a two-disc edition with special features similar to the North American two-disc edition. Currently, the DVD holds the Guinness World Record for being the fastest selling DVD of all time. The achievement was added to the 2007 book edition of The Guinness World Records, which includes a picture of the award being presented to Dan Radcliffe on set of Order of the Phoenix at Leavesden Film Studios in April 2006. In the United States, the first five Harry Potter films were released on HD DVD and Blu-ray disc on 11 December 2007. The fourth film has since become available in numerous box sets containing the other films released in the series, including the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection and Harry Potter Wizard's Collection. An Ultimate Edition of Goblet of Fire was released on 19 October 2010, featuring behind-the-scenes footage, trailers, additional scenes, and a feature-length special Creating the World of Harry Potter Part 4: Sound & Music. Despite not being included in the Ultimate Edition, an extended version has been shown during certain television airings with a running time of about 167 minutes. Reception Box office After an opening day of $40 million at the North American box office and staying at number 1 for three weeks, The Goblet of Fire made a successful 20-week run in cinemas, closing on 6 April 2006. The film set numerous records, including the highest non-May opening weekend in the US, and earned £14.9m in its opening weekend in the UK, a record which has since been beaten by the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, which took in £15.4m. The Goblet of Fire drew $102.7 million its opening weekend at the North American box office, setting a new opening high for the franchise and also achieved the highest weekend debut in November, with the latter being surpassed by The Twilight Saga: New Moon in 2009. It sold about as many tickets as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone did in its opening weekend. The film's franchise record was later overtaken in 2010 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which opened to $125 million; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 followed with $169.1 million in its opening weekend. The Goblet of Fire's debut marked the fourth $100 million weekend in history and as of July 2011, it stands as the 17th largest opening weekend ever. In Mainland China, the film generated 93 million yuan. The Goblet of Fire earned almost US$897 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing international and worldwide release of 2005. In IMAX theatres only, the film grossed a total of US$20,033,758 worldwide for a cumulative per screen average of $188,998 thus setting a new record and a new milestone for a digitally remastered 2-D IMAX release. In January 2006, The Goblet of Fire surpassed the box office takings of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) to become the eighth-highest-grossing film worldwide, and the second-highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, behind The Philosopher's Stone. As of July 2011, it has been the sixth-highest-grossing Harry Potter film behind The Philosopher's Stone, The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and The Deathly Hallows – Part 2. The film ranks third in the North American box office behind Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith and The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for 2005, with US$290 million, although both films rank lower than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in worldwide terms. Critical response On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 249 reviews, with an average rating of 7.47/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "The main characters are maturing, and the filmmakers are likewise improving on their craft; vibrant special effects and assured performances add up to what is the most complex yet of the Harry Potter films." At Metacritic, the film has a score of 81 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. The New York Daily News praised the film for both its humour and its dark tone. The young actors were praised for demonstrating a "greater range of subtle emotions", particularly Daniel Radcliffe whom Variety described as delivering a "dimensional and nuanced performance". New cast members were also praised: Brendan Gleeson's portrayal of Mad-Eye Moody was described as "colourful"; Miranda Richardson's scenes as Rita Skeeter were described as "wonderful"; and Ralph Fiennes's portrayal of Lord Voldemort was described as "sublime villainy". The maturity of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, among others, impressed most critics. While the major characters were portrayed as children in the previous films, "they have subtly transitioned into teenagers (in Goblet of Fire)" according to one USA Today reviewer. Desson Thomson of the Washington Post called the film "Probably the most engaging film of the Potter series thus far". Joe Morgenstern of the Wall Street Journal stated "The studio, like plucky Harry, passes with flying colors. The new one, directed by Mike Newell from another astute script by Mr. Kloves, is even richer and fuller, as well as dramatically darker. It's downright scary how good this movie is". Negative criticism included the film's pace which The Arizona Republic described as being "far too episodic", while CNN.com described the film as "clunky and disjointed". Another criticism was that the many supporting characters did not get enough screen time. The film was listed at #36 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies praising Rowling for ingeniously blending "two literary traditions, fantasy and coming-through-school fiction". Accolades The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction at the 78th Academy Awards. At the 2006 Teen Choice Awards, the film won the award for Choice Movie Drama. The film won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, making it the first Harry Potter film to win at the BAFTAs. At the 2006 Kids' Choice Awards, the film won the Blimp Award for Favorite Movie, becoming the only Harry Potter film to do so. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a 2007 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 2003 novel of the same name. The fifth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, it was written by Michael Goldenberg (making this the only film in the series not to be scripted by Steve Kloves) and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. The story follows Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry as the Ministry of Magic is in denial of Lord Voldemort's return. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and is followed by Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Live-action filming took place in England and Scotland for exterior locations and Leavesden Film Studios in Watford for interior locations from February to November 2006, with a one-month break in June. Post-production on the film continued for several months afterwards to add in visual effects. The film's budget was reportedly between £75 and 100 million ($150–200 million). Warner Bros. released the film in the United Kingdom on 12 July 2007 and in North America on 11 July, both in conventional and IMAX theatres; it is the first Potter film to be released in IMAX 3D. Order of the Phoenix became the sixth highest-grossing film of all-time by the end of its theatrical run (behind Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End). It opened to a worldwide five-day opening of $333 million, fourteenth all-time, and grossed $940 million total, second to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End for the greatest total of 2007. The film was nominated for two BAFTA Film Awards in 2008. During another summer with his Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon, Harry Potter is expelled from Hogwarts after using magic to save himself and Dudley Dursley from Dementors. Harry is whisked off by a group of wizards including Mad-Eye Moody, Remus Lupin and several new faces including Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt to Number 12, Grimmauld Place, the home of his godfather Sirius Black. The building also serves as the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, a secret organisation founded by Albus Dumbledore which informs Harry that the Ministry of Magic is refusing to believe Lord Voldemort's return. At the Order's headquarters, Sirius mentions that Voldemort is after a special object he did not have during his previous attack. Harry's expulsion is reversed at a hearing of the Ministry of Magic and he returns to Hogwarts for his fifth year, where Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge has appointed a new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor: Dolores Umbridge. Umbridge immediately clashes with Harry and punishes him for his "lies" about Voldemort by forcing him to write a message with a magic quill, scarring his hand. Despite the concern of his best friends Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, Harry refuses to report Umbridge's punishment to Dumbledore, who has mysteriously been ignoring Harry since the summer. As Umbridge's control over the school increases, Harry, Hermione and Ron form a secret group to train students in defensive spells, calling themselves "Dumbledore's Army". Umbridge tasks the Slytherin students with exposing the group, forming the "Inquisitorial Squad". Meanwhile, Harry and Cho Chang develop romantic feelings for each other. Harry has a vision involving an attack upon Arthur Weasley, from the point of view of Arthur's attacker. Concerned that Voldemort will exploit this connection to Harry, Dumbledore instructs Severus Snape to give Harry Occlumency lessons to defend his mind from Voldemort's influence. These end after Harry discovers through Snape's memories why Snape hated Harry's father James (who often ridiculed him). The connection causes Harry to further isolate himself from his friends. Meanwhile, Sirius' deranged Death Eater cousin Bellatrix Lestrange escapes from Azkaban along with nine other Death Eaters. At Hogwarts, Umbridge and her "Inquisitorial Squad" expose Dumbledore's Army by forcing Cho to drink Veritaserum. Dumbledore escapes as Fudge orders his arrest. Umbridge becomes the new Headmistress. Harry's refusal to forgive Cho causes their relationship to fall apart. After seeing another vision where Sirius is tortured by Voldemort, Harry, Ron and Hermione rush to Umbridge's fireplace to alert the Order via the Floo Network but are caught by her. When Umbridge threatens to use the Cruciatus Curse on Harry, Hermione tricks her into entering the Forbidden Forest in search of Dumbledore's "secret weapon". Hermione and Harry lead Umbridge to the hiding place of Rubeus Hagrid's giant half-brother Grawp, only to be confronted by centaurs who kidnap Umbridge after she attacks and insults them. Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood, and Neville Longbottom fly to the Ministry of Magic on Thestrals in an attempt to save Sirius. The six enter the Department of Mysteries and uncover a bottled prophecy, the object Voldemort was after. However, they are ambushed by Death Eaters led by Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix. Lucius reveals that Harry only saw a dream of Sirius being tortured, which served as a ruse to lure Harry into the Death Eaters' grasp. Harry refuses to give Lucius the prophecy, causing a fight between Dumbledore's Army and the Death Eaters. The Death Eaters capture everyone except Harry, threatening to kill them unless he surrenders the prophecy. As Harry obliges, the Order arrive and attack the Death Eaters. This causes Lucius to drop the prophecy, destroying it. Just as Sirius overpowers Lucius, he is killed by Bellatrix. Voldemort appears, but Dumbledore arrives through the Floo Network moments before he can kill Harry. A duel between Voldemort and Dumbledore ensues, which destroys much of the Atrium while Bellatrix escapes. Unable to defeat Dumbledore, Voldemort possesses Harry to tempt Dumbledore into sacrificing him but the love Harry feels for his friends and Sirius makes it impossible for Voldemort to remain in his body. Ministry officials arrive right before Voldemort disapparates; Fudge is forced to admit Voldemort's return and is forced out of his position as Minister in disgrace. Umbridge is removed from Hogwarts, and Dumbledore returns as headmaster. Dumbledore explains that he distanced himself from Harry throughout the year, hoping it would lessen the risk of Voldemort using their connection. Harry comes to terms with the prophecy: "Neither can live while the other survives." Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a 15-year-old British wizard famous for surviving his parents' murder at the hands of Voldemort as an infant, who now enters his fifth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, Harry's best friend at Hogwarts. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's Muggle-born best friend and the brains of the trio. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's most loyal Death Eaters and the cousin of Sirius Black. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant Gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, leader of the Death Eaters, a dark wizard intent on conquering the Wizarding World. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, the legendary Hogwarts headmaster and leader of the Order of the Phoenix. Brendan Gleeson as Mad-Eye Moody, Harry's ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle uncle. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, a falsely pardoned senior Death Eater. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's godfather and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the Potions teacher at Hogwarts and the Head of Slytherin Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher at Hogwarts and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and a plant from the corrupt Ministry of Magic. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, Harry's ex-Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher and a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney, the Divination teacher at Hogwarts. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, the Weasley matriarch and a mother figure to Harry, also a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Differences from the book At 766 pages in the British edition and 870 in the American edition, Order of the Phoenix is the longest book in the Harry Potter series. Screenwriter Michael Goldenberg described his task to cut down the novel as searching for "the best equivalent way to tell the story. My job was to stay true to the spirit of the book, rather than to the letter". Goldenberg said that Rowling told him, the producers, and Yates that "she just wanted to see a great movie, and gave [them] permission to take whatever liberties [they] felt [they] needed to take to translate the book into a movie she would love". Cutting down the book to meet the time frame of the film, Goldenberg explained, became "clearer when [he] figured out that the organising principle of the screenplay was to narrate Harry's emotional journey". He and Yates "looked for every opportunity to get everything [they] could in there. And where [they] couldn't, to sort of pay homage to it, to have it somewhere in the background or to feel like it could be taking place off-screen". One cut Goldenberg had to make, which he "hated" to do, was the absence of Quidditch, the Wizarding sport. "The truth is that any movie made of this book, whoever made it, that had included the Quidditch subplot would have been a lesser film", he said. In the book, Ron grows as a character by trying out for the Quidditch team. "Ron facing challenges and coming into his own in the same way that Harry is, we tried to get that into the film in other ways, as much as possible. So, you feel like, if not the details of that story, at least the spirit of it is present in the film". The change disappointed actor Rupert Grint who had been "quite looking forward to the Quidditch stuff". In a significant scene in the book, Harry sees a memory of his own father humiliating Snape in their school days, and Snape insulting his mother after she stood up for him. In the film, it is abbreviated to an "idea", in Goldenberg's words. "It's an iconic moment when you realise your parents are normal, flawed human beings. ... Things get trimmed out, but I kept the meat of that in there – and that was what really gave me the coming-of-age story." Young Lily Potter did not appear at all, but promotional screenshots show unknown teenager Susie Shinner in the role. The scene at St Mungo's, the hospital where Harry and friends run into classmate Neville Longbottom and learn that his parents were tortured into insanity by Bellatrix Lestrange, was cut because it required the construction of a new set. The main purpose of the action of the scene was relocated to the Room of Requirement after one of Dumbledore's Army's lessons. Also, to speed up the film's climax, several events in the Ministry leading up to Harry's battle with Voldemort were removed, including the brain room. Mrs. Weasley's encounter with a boggart at Grimmauld Place, Ron, Hermione and Malfoy becoming prefects, the appearance of Mundungus Fletcher, and Firenze teaching Divination followed suit. The character of Kreacher the house-elf, who was included in the script only at Rowling's request, has a larger part in the book than the film. In the novel, he is seen saving some of the Black family's artefacts which the Order of the Phoenix throw away, one of which is a locket which becomes extremely important in the seventh book. "It was kind of tricky to raise that in our story, because it's for so much later", Yates said. "We figured we can probably introduce it later, and that's the approach we took". Whilst Kreacher remained, all scenes involving Dobby were cut, and his important actions given to other characters. Rita Skeeter, the journalist played by Miranda Richardson in Goblet of Fire, was also removed. In the book, Hermione blackmails her into writing an article that supports Harry as the rest of the Wizarding world denies his claims. Richardson noted that "it's never gonna be the book on film, exactly. ... They'll take certain aspects from the book and make it something that they hope is going to be commercial and that people want to see". Production Development British television director David Yates was chosen to direct the film after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell, as well as Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Guillermo del Toro, Matthew Vaughn and Mira Nair, turned down offers. Yates believed he was approached because the studio saw him fit to handle an "edgy and emotional" film with a "political backstory", which some of his previous television projects including State of Play, Sex Traffic and The Girl in the Café demonstrated. Producer David Heyman supported Yates' comments about the film's political theme, stating that "[Order of the Phoenix] is a political film, not with a capital P, but it's about teen rebellion and the abuse of power. David has made films in the UK about politics without being heavy handed." On the film's political and social aspects, Emma Watson stated that "somehow it talks about life after 7 July, the way people behave when they're scared, the way truth is often denied and all the things our society has to face. Facing the fact that the authority is corrupted means having a non-conformist approach to reality and power." Steve Kloves, the screenwriter of the first four Potter films, had other commitments. Michael Goldenberg, who was considered to pen the first film in the series, filled in and wrote the script. Rehearsals for Order of the Phoenix began on 27 January 2006, filming began on 7 February 2006 and finished at the start of December 2006. Filming was put on a two-month hiatus starting in May 2006 so Radcliffe could sit his A/S Levels and Watson could sit her GCSE exams. The film's budget was reportedly between GB£75 and 100 million (US$150–200 million). The largest budget of the other films in the series has been the £75 million it cost to make Goblet of Fire. Mark Day was the film editor, Sławomir Idziak was the cinematographer, and Jany Temime was the costume designer. Choreographer Paul Harris, who had previously worked with David Yates several times, created a physical language for wand combat to choreograph the wand fighting scenes. Casting Casting began as early as May 2005, when Radcliffe announced he would reprise his role as Harry. Across the media frenzy that took place during the release of Goblet of Fire, most of the main returning actors announced their return to the series, including Grint, Watson, Lewis, Wright, Leung, and Fiennes. The announcements of the casting of the rest of the new characters to the series was spanned across 2006. Evanna Lynch won the role of Luna Lovegood over 15,000 other girls who attended the open casting call, waiting in a line of hopefuls that stretched a mile long. Saoirse Ronan was considered for the role. Persistent rumours linked Elizabeth Hurley to the role of Bellatrix Lestrange, although Warner Bros. asserted there was "no truth whatsoever" to reports that she had been cast. As early as August 2005, rumours began linking Helen McCrory to the role. On 2 February 2006 it was announced that McCrory had indeed been cast as Bellatrix. However, in April 2006 she revealed that she was three months pregnant and withdrew from the film because she would not have been able to perform the intense battle sequences in the Ministry of Magic in September and October 2006. The announcement that Bonham Carter had been recast in the role was made on 25 May 2006. McCrory was subsequently cast as Narcissa Malfoy from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince onwards. The inclusion or cutting of some characters sparked speculation from fans as to the importance of the characters in the final book of the series, which was released just ten days after the film. In April 2006, representatives of Jim McManus said he would be playing Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus' brother and the barman of the Hog's Head, in which Harry and his friends found Dumbledore's Army. A week later WB announced that the role was "very minor", allaying some of the speculation to the significance of the role, which, before the final book, was not even a speaking part. MTV reported in October 2006 that Dobby the house elf, who appeared in the second film, Chamber of Secrets, and in the fifth book, would be cut, opening up "plot questions" as to how the role of the elf would be filled. MTV also reported about a month before the release of the final book that Kreacher, the Black family's house-elf, was cut from the film in one draft of the script. However, after Rowling prodded the filmmakers to include him, saying, "You know, I wouldn't [cut him] if I were you. Or you can, but if you get to make a seventh film, you'll be tied in knots", he was added back into the script. Other minor roles were cut with subsequent drafts of the script. At the US premiere of Goblet of Fire, series producer David Heyman said that former Hogwarts professor Gilderoy Lockhart, played by Kenneth Branagh in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, was in the first draft of the script for Phoenix. However, neither Branagh nor the character of Lockhart appears in the final version. Tiana Benjamin was scheduled to return for the film in the role of Angelina Johnson, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but she had to withdraw due to a commitment to playing Chelsea Fox in EastEnders. The character, as well as the entire Quidditch subplot, was ultimately cut from the film. She did, however, record sound clips for the Order of the Phoenix video game. The family of footballer Theo Walcott made a cameo appearance in the film. They were signed on by director David Yates, who is the partner of Yvonne Walcott, Theo's aunt. Theo himself was due to appear alongside his family, though his commitments to Arsenal Football Club forced him to pull out. Set design Stuart Craig returned as set designer, having designed the first four films' sets. There were a number of notable new sets in this film. The atrium in the Ministry of Magic is over 200 feet in length, making it the largest and most expensive set built for the Potter film series to date. Craig's design was inspired by early London Underground stations, where, he said, architects "tried to imitate classical architecture but they used ceramic tile", as well as a Burger King on Tottenham Court Road in London, where "there's a fantastic Victorian façade which just embodies the age". The set of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place contains the Black family tapestry spread across three walls; when the producers told Rowling they wanted to visualise the details of each name and birth year, she faxed them a complete copy of the entire tree. The set of the Hall of Prophecies was entirely digitally built. During a fight scene which occurs there, prophecies crash to the ground and break; had it been an actual physical set, the reset time would have been weeks. The set used for Igor Karkaroff's trial scene in Goblet of Fire was doubled in size for Harry's trial in this film, while still protecting its symmetry. New professor Dolores Umbridge, though she teaches in a classroom that has appeared in films two through four, inhabits an office vastly different from those of her predecessors. The set was redressed with "fluffy, pink filigree" and a number of plates upon which moving kittens were animated in post-production. A 24-hour photo shoot was held to photograph and film the kittens for use on these plates. The quill which Umbridge gives Harry to write lines is designed by the set designers. Filming Though the producers explored options to film outside of the UK, Leavesden Film Studios in Watford was again the location on which many of the interior scenes, including the Great Hall, Privet Drive and Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place were shot. Locations in England included the River Thames, for the flight of the Order of the Phoenix to Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and the flight of Dumbledore's Army to the Ministry of Magic. This sequence also includes such landmarks as the London Eye, Canary Wharf, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, and HMS Belfast. Filming at Platform 9¾ took place at King's Cross Station, as it has in the past. A telephone booth near Scotland Yard was used as Harry and Arthur Weasley enter the Ministry, while the crew closed the Westminster tube station on 22 October 2006 to allow for filming of Arthur Weasley accompanying Harry to his trial at the Ministry of Magic. Other scenes were filmed in and around Oxford, specifically at nearby Blenheim Palace in Woodstock. In Glenfinnan, the Hogwarts Express crosses a viaduct, as it has in the past films. Aerial scenes were shot in Glen Coe, in Clachaig Gully, and Glen Etive, which, at the time of filming, was one of the few places in Scotland without snow, making it ideal for a backdrop. Director David Yates stated in an interview that he had originally shot a three-hour film of Order of the Phoenix. However, some material had to be cut out in the final edit, as the movie was 45 minutes too long. Therefore, several locations which were used for various scenes do not appear in the final cut of the film. In Virginia Water, scenes were shot where Professor McGonagall recovers from Stunning Spells, and Burnham Beeches was used for filming the scene where Hagrid introduces his fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures class to Thestrals. Harry skips stones in front of the Glenfinnan Monument in Glenfinnan in another cut scene. Visual effects The film required over 1,400 visual effects shots, and the London-based company Double Negative created more than 950 of them. Working for six months on previsualisation starting in September 2005, Double Negative was largely responsible for sequences in the Room of Requirement, the Forbidden Forest, the Hall of Prophecies, and the Death Chamber. A new character in the film, Grawp, Hagrid's giant half-brother, came to life by a new technology called Soul Capturing, developed by Image Metrics. Instead of building the character from scratch, the movements and facial expressions of actor Tony Maudsley were used to model Grawp's actions. Music and soundtrack Nicholas Hooper was the composer for the soundtrack of the film, following John Williams, who scored the first three films, and Patrick Doyle, who did the fourth. In the new score, Hooper incorporated variations on "Hedwig's Theme", the series' theme originally written by Williams for the first film and heard in all subsequent ones. In March and April 2007, Hooper and the London Chamber Orchestra recorded nearly two hours of music at Abbey Road Studios in London. The score, like the film and book, is darker than previous instalments in the series. To emphasise this, the two new main themes reflect the sinister new character Dolores Umbridge, and Lord Voldemort's invasion of Harry's mind. A Japanese Taiko drum was used for a deeper sound in the percussion. The soundtrack was released by Warner Bros. Records on 10 July 2007, the eve of the film's release. For his work on the film, Hooper was nominated for a World Soundtrack Discovery Award. The trailer prominently features the cues "Divine Crusade" by X-Ray Dog and "DNA Reactor" by Pfeifer Broz. Music. The film also featured the song "Boys Will Be Boys" by The Ordinary Boys which played during a scene into the Gryffindor common room (at min. 31:35). Release Marketing The first trailer was released on 17 November 2006, attached to another WB film, Happy Feet. It was made available online on 20 November 2006, on the Happy Feet website. The international trailer debuted online on 22 April 2007 at 14:00 UTC. On 4 May 2007, the US trailer was shown before Spider-Man 3. Three posters released on the Internet that showed Harry accompanied by six classmates, including Hermione Granger, generated some controversy by the media. They were essentially the same picture, though one advertised the IMAX release. In one poster, the profile of Hermione, played by Emma Watson, was made curvier as the outline of her breasts was enhanced. Melissa Anelli, webmistress of noted fan site The Leaky Cauldron, wrote: Emma Watson is playing a 15-year-old girl, and she herself is under 18. I get the full heebie jeebies thinking about the person who sat there thinking, 'Now, if we cinch her waist a bit, and inflate her bust a bit, and give her some dramatic lighting and more blonde hair, this would be a much better picture.' Representatives for WB later wrote about the poster under fire, "This is not an official poster. Unfortunately this image was accidentally posted on the IMAX website". The video game version, designed by EA UK, was released 25 June 2007. Lego produced just one set, a model of Hogwarts, the lowest number of sets for a film so far. NECA produced a series of action figures, while a larger array of smaller figures was also produced by PopCo Entertainment, a Corgi International company. Theatrical release The film was the third Harry Potter film to be given a simultaneous release in conventional theatres and IMAX. The IMAX release featured the full movie in 2D and the final 20 minutes of the film in 3D. According to estimates in March 2007, by Warner Bros., the film would debut on over 10,000 theatre screens during the summer. The film was released in most countries in a two-week period starting 11 July 2007. WB has tried to stick with day-and-date releases for most countries, except the Middle East and a few minor markets which were to be in holidays at that point. The set of summer releases, even though the films are typically released in the winter, "really maximises our opportunity", said a representative for WB. Previews of the film began in March 2007 in the Chicago area. Under tight security to prevent piracy, WB had security guards patrol the aisles, looking for cell phone cameras or small recording devices, at a preview in Japan. The world premiere took place in Tokyo, Japan on 28 June 2007. MySpace users could bring copies of their online profiles to gain free admission to sneak previews in eight different cities across the country on 28 June 2007. The UK premiere took place on 3 July 2007 in London's Odeon Leicester Square, during which author J. K. Rowling made a public appearance. The US premiere took place on 8 July in Los Angeles. After the premiere, the three young stars of the film series, Radcliffe, Grint, and Watson, were honoured with a ceremony where their handprints, footprints, and "wandprints" were placed in the cement in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre. Originally, Warner Bros. set the Australian release date as 6 September 2007, nearly two months after the majority of other release dates. However, after complaints from the Australian community, including a petition garnering 2,000 signatures the date was pulled back to 11 July 2007. The release dates of the film in the UK and US were also moved back, both from 13 July, to 12 and 11 July, respectively. Even though the book is the longest in the series (over 700 pages), the film is 138 minutes long (2 hours and 18 minutes), the second shortest in the entire film series. Home media The DVDs included additional scenes, a feature showing a day in the life of Natalia Tena, who played Nymphadora Tonks, an A&E documentary about the films and books, and a featurette on film editing in Phoenix. The DVD-ROM features a timeline and a sneak peek of the next film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009). The HD DVD and Blu-ray contain additional features, such as the "in-movie experience", a video commentary in which members of Dumbledore's Army share their favourite moments from the production of the film, and "focus points" featurettes on how certain scenes of the film were made. The HD DVD also includes an exclusive feature called "community screening", which enables owners of the HD DVD to watch the film together over the Internet. Order of the Phoenix was the seventh best-selling DVD of 2007, with 10.14 million units. The high-definition DVDs had combined sales of 179,500 copies, with more units coming from the Blu-ray version. There was also a third DVD with extras featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the sets of the movie. This can only be found in those purchased at Target stores (Future Shop in Canada) since it is a Target exclusive. The package included a one-time-only code that activated a digital copy of the film, which may be played on a computer with Windows Media Player. The digital copy, however, is not playable on Macintosh or Apple Inc. iPod devices. This issue was partially addressed, with the film being made available on the iTunes Store in the UK but not the US. Reception Box office The film opened to a worldwide 5-day opening of $333 million, the fourteenth-biggest opening of all time. In the United States, tickets for hundreds of midnight showings of the film, bought from online ticket-seller Fandango, were sold out, making up approximately 90% of the site's weekly ticket sales. In the US and Canada, midnight screenings (very early morning on 11 July) brought in $12 million from 2,311 midnight exhibitions making the showings "the most successful batch of midnight exhibitions ever". In one-night earnings, Phoenix is behind only At World's End, which had debuted four hours earlier on its date. In studio documents leaked in July 2010, it was revealed the film lost Warner Bros. about $167 million. In North America, Phoenix earned an additional $32.2 million on Wednesday, post-midnight showings, making it the biggest single-day Wednesday gross in box office history, with a total of $44.2 million from 4,285 theatres. That amount topped Sony Pictures' Spider-Man 2, which held the record since 2004 with its $40.4 million take on a Wednesday, until this record was broken in 2009 by Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with $62 million. It was also the fifth-biggest opening day for a movie in history, at the time, surpassing At World's End's $42.9 million. It earned $1.9 million from a record-breaking 91 IMAX screens, the highest opening day ever for any IMAX day of the week, beating Spider-Man 3's $1.8 million. In the UK the result was similar. The film made £16.5 million during its opening 4-day run, breaking the UK box office record for the biggest 4-day opening weekend ever. Phoenix's gross is at $292 million in the US and Canada, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of 2007 in these regions, and at £49.2 million, or $101.4 million in the UK Overseas, it has grossed $648 million, the seventh-highest grosser ever overseas, for a worldwide total of $940 million making it the second-highest-grossing film of the year closely behind Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End's $963 million gross. It became the sixth-highest-grossing film in history at the time, the second-highest-grossing Potter film worldwide, and the second Potter film to break the $900 million mark. As of April 2019, it is the 49th-highest-grossing film of all time as well as the fourth-highest-grossing Potter film in the franchise behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2's $1.341 billion, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone's $974 million, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1's $960 million and the highest-grossing 2007 film in Australia and the UK. IMAX Corporation and Warner Bros. Pictures announced that the film has made over $35 million on IMAX screens, worldwide, with an impressive per-screen average of $243,000 making it the highest-grossing live-action IMAX release in history. In South Africa the film opened at number 1 with a total of $944,082.00, being screened at 87 theatres. Critical response David Yates at the Hollywood premiere of Order of the Phoenix, July 2007. Yates was particularly praised for his transition from television to mainstream cinema; he had not directed a feature film prior to Order of the Phoenix. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 78% based on 247 reviews, with an average rating of 6.88/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "It's not easy to take the longest Harry Potter book and streamline it into the shortest HP movie, but director David Yates does a bang up job of it, creating an Order of the Phoenix that's entertaining and action-packed." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 71 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews" On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A–" on an A+ to F scale. Charles Frederick of The Telegraph headlined his review "Potter film is the best and darkest yet". Colin Bertram of the New York Daily News gave the film four out of four stars, calling it the best Potter film yet and wrote that "die-hard Potter addicts will rejoice that Yates has distilled J. K. Rowling's broad universe with care and reverence". Mark Adams of The Sunday Mirror, while giving the film four out of five stars, called it "a dark and delicious delight [and] a must-see movie". Rene Rodriguez of The Miami Herald gave the film three stars out of four and wrote that the film "is the first instalment in the soon-to-be series-of-seven that doesn't seem like just another spinoff capitalising on the money-minting Harry Potter brand name. Instead, Phoenix feels like a real 'movie'". Imelda Staunton's performance as Dolores Umbridge and Helena Bonham Carter's as Bellatrix Lestrange were widely acclaimed; Staunton was described as the "perfect choice for the part" and "one of the film's greatest pleasures", "coming close to stealing the show". The Daily Mail described Staunton's portrayal of Umbridge as a "refreshing addition", with the character herself described as "a cross between Margaret Thatcher and Hyacinth Bucket". Bonham Carter was said to be a "shining but underused talent". Variety praised Alan Rickman's portrayal of Severus Snape, writing that he "may have outdone himself; seldom has an actor done more with less than he does here". Newcomer Evanna Lynch, playing Luna Lovegood, also received good word from a number of reviewers including the New York Times who declared her "spellbinding". Peter Travers of Rolling Stone also lauded the three principal actors' achievements, especially Radcliffe: "One of the joys of this film is watching Daniel Radcliffe grow so impressively into the role of Harry. He digs deep into the character and into Harry's nightmares. It's a sensational performance, touching all the bases from tender to fearful". Rolling Stone's review also classified the film as better than the previous four instalments in the series, by losing the "candy-ass aspect" of the first two and "raising the bar" from the "heat and resonance" of the third and fourth. Peter Travers of Rolling Stone called the film "the best of the series so far, [with] the laughs, the jitters and the juice to make even nonbelievers wild about Harry". Leo Lewis of The Times (London) expressed disappointment that the three main actors were not able to fully advance the emotional sides of their respective characters, weakening the film. The San Francisco Chronicle complained about a "lousy" storyline, alleging that the first twenty minutes of the film, when Harry is put on trial for performing magic outside of school and threatened with expulsion, but is cleared of all charges, did not advance the plot. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that Phoenix is "quite possibly the least enjoyable of the [series] so far", and that despite "several eye-catching moments", "the magic – movie magic, that is – is mostly missing". The review also criticised the under use of the "cream of British acting", noting the brief appearances of Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Emma Thompson, David Thewlis, Richard Griffiths, and Julie Walters. Accolades and awards Before it was released, Order of the Phoenix was nominated in a new category at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards, Best Summer Movie You Haven't Seen Yet. On 26 August 2007, the film won the award for Choice Summer Movie – Drama/Action Adventure at the Teen Choice Awards. The film was also nominated for several awards at the 2007 Scream Awards presented by Spike TV, in the categories of The Ultimate Scream, Best Fantasy Movie, and Best Sequel. Daniel Radcliffe was nominated in the Fantasy Hero categories, respectively. The film won for Best Sequel and Ralph Fiennes won for "Most Vile Villain". The film picked up three awards at the inaugural ITV National Movie Awards, taking Best Family Film, Best Actor for Radcliffe and Best Actress for Emma Watson. The film was one of ten nominees for a 2007 Hollywood Movie of the Year. It was also nominated for Best Live Action Family Film at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards and won the 2007 People's Choice Award for "Favorite Movie Drama". The production was also nominated for six awards at the 13th Empire Awards, organised by Empire, including Best Film, David Yates won Best Director. Yates later received the BAFTA Britannia Award for Artistic Excellence in Directing for his four Harry Potter films, which includes Order of the Phoenix. Nicholas Hooper received a nomination for a World Soundtrack Discovery Award for his score to the film. Imelda Staunton was nominated in the "British Actress in a Supporting Role" category at the London Film Critics Circle Awards. At the 2008 BAFTA Awards, the film was nominated for "Best Production Design" and "Best Special Visual Effects". Order of the Phoenix was also nominated for the awards from the Art Directors Guild and Costume Designers Guild, and was awarded for "Outstanding Special Effects in a Motion Picture" by the Visual Effects Society out of six nominations. The British Academy Children's Awards (BAFTA) nominated Order of the Phoenix for Best Feature Film in 2007 and the Hugo Awards nominated the film for Best Dramatic Presentation (Long Form) in 2008. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a 2009 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is based on J. K. Rowling's 2005 novel of the same name. The film, which is the sixth instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman and David Barron. The story follows Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts as he receives a mysterious textbook, falls in love, and attempts to retrieve a memory that holds the key to Lord Voldemort's downfall. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and is followed by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. Filming began on 24 September 2007, leading to the film's worldwide cinematic release on 15 July 2009, one day short of the fourth anniversary of the corresponding novel's release. With an estimated budget of $250 million, it is the 15th most expensive film ever made and the most expensive film in the Harry Potter film series. The film was simultaneously released in regular cinemas and IMAX 3D everywhere except North America, where its IMAX release was delayed for two weeks. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince premiered in London on 7 July 2009 and was released theatrically worldwide on 15 July. The film was a major commercial success, breaking the record for the biggest single-day worldwide gross. In five days the film made $394 million, breaking the record for highest five-day worldwide gross. With a total gross of $934 million, it became the 8th-highest-grossing film of all time and 2009's second-highest-grossing film (behind Avatar). It is the fifth-highest-grossing film in the franchise. The film received positive reviews, with praise for Yates's direction and the performances, cinematography, musical score, and "emotionally satisfying" story. The film was nominated at the 82nd Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and the 63rd British Academy Film Awards for Best Special Visual Effects and Best Production Design. Lord Voldemort is tightening his grip on both the wizarding and Muggle worlds, kidnapping wand-maker Garrick Ollivander from Diagon Alley and destroying the Millennium Bridge. The Malfoy family is disgraced when Lucius is apprehended and sent to Azkaban for his involvement with the Death Eaters. Voldemort instead chooses Draco to carry out a secret mission at Hogwarts. Draco's mother Narcissa and aunt Bellatrix Lestrange seek help from Severus Snape, who claims to have been acting as a mole within the Order of the Phoenix all along. Snape makes an Unbreakable Vow with Narcissa to protect Draco and fulfill the assignment if he fails. Harry Potter, now 16 years old, accompanies Albus Dumbledore from Surbiton to the village of Budleigh Babberton to visit former Potions professor Horace Slughorn. Slughorn, who has been in hiding, agrees to return to teach at Hogwarts. Dumbledore then takes Harry to The Burrow, where Harry reunites with his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The three visit Fred and George Weasley's new joke shop at Diagon Alley and see Draco entering Knockturn Alley with a group of Death Eaters including Fenrir Greyback. Harry believes Voldemort has made Draco a Death Eater, but Ron and Hermione are sceptical. On the Hogwarts Express, Harry hides in the Slytherin carriage using his Invisibility Cloak, but is spotted and petrified by Malfoy. Harry is found and saved by Luna Lovegood. At Hogwarts, Harry and Ron borrow textbooks for Slughorn's Potions class, and Harry is stuck with a copy that turns out to be filled with helpful notes and spells left by the "Half-Blood Prince". Harry uses the book to excel in the class and impresses Slughorn, winning a Liquid Luck potion. Ron becomes Keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team and forms a romantic relationship with Lavender Brown, upsetting Hermione. Harry consoles Hermione and admits that he now has feelings for Ron's younger sister, Ginny Weasley. Harry spends the Christmas holidays with the Weasleys. On Christmas Eve, Harry discusses his suspicions about Draco to the Order of the Phoenix. His suspicions are dismissed, but Arthur Weasley later tells Harry privately that the Malfoys may have been interested in a Vanishing Cabinet. Bellatrix and Greyback attack and burn down the Burrow, drawing Harry into a battle. He saves Ginny before the Order arrive and fight off the Death Eaters. At Hogwarts, Dumbledore reveals to Harry that Slughorn possesses a memory of Voldemort that Dumbledore desperately needs. He asks Harry to confront Slughorn and retrieve the real memory, after being given an altered version that made it appear as though Slughorn did not know anything. Harry is unable to convince Slughorn. After Ron accidentally ingests a love potion intended for Harry, Harry cures him with Slughorn's help. The trio celebrate with mead that Slughorn had intended to gift to Dumbledore. The mead poisons Ron, and Harry is forced to save his life after Slughorn hesitates. Ron murmurs Hermione's name while recovering in the infirmary, causing Lavender to end their relationship. Harry confronts Draco about the mead and a cursed necklace, and the two duel. Harry uses a curse from the Half-Blood Prince's potion book to severely injure Malfoy, who is rescued and healed by Snape. Fearing the book may be filled with more Dark Magic, Ginny and Harry hide it in the Room of Requirement and share their first kiss. Harry decides to use his Liquid Luck potion to convince Slughorn to give up the memory Dumbledore needs. Harry views the memory with Dumbledore and learns that Voldemort wanted information for creating Horcruxes, magical objects that could contain pieces of a wizard's soul and make them immortal. Dumbledore concludes that Voldemort successfully divided his soul into seven pieces by creating six Horcruxes, two of which have already been destroyed: Tom Riddle's diary by Harry and Marvolo Gaunt's ring by him. The two travel to a seaside cave where Harry aids Dumbledore in drinking a potion that hides another Horcrux, Slytherin's locket. A weakened Dumbledore defends them from Inferi and apparates back to Hogwarts. Bellatrix, Greyback, and more Death Eaters enter Hogwarts with Draco's help through the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement that Draco managed to connect to the one he had been working on in Knockturn Alley. Dumbledore instructs Harry to hide and not interfere under any circumstance. Draco arrives in the Astronomy Tower and disarms Dumbledore revealing that he has been chosen by Voldemort to kill the headmaster. Snape arrives, and casts the killing curse on Dumbledore when Draco is unable to bring himself to do it, killing the Headmaster. He then overpowers Harry and reveals himself as the Half-Blood Prince before escaping with the Death Eaters. Harry returns to Hogwarts, where the students, staff, and a few guests mourn Dumbledore's death. He later reveals to Ron and Hermione that the locket Horcrux was a fake. The locket contains a message from "R.A.B.", stating that he has stolen the real Horcrux with the intent of destroying it. Rather than returning for their final year at Hogwarts, the three decide to leave and track down the remaining Horcruxes. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, a 16-year-old British wizard, who now enters his sixth year at Hogwarts. Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, one of Harry's two best friends. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, one of Harry's two best friends. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, one of Voldemort's principal Death Eaters and Draco Malfoy's aunt. Jim Broadbent as Horace Slughorn, the newly appointed Potions master who held the position before. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, the Hogwarts gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts. Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, the Charms master and head of Ravenclaw. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival and recipient of Voldemort's secret mission. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, the former Potions master, current Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and head of Slytherin. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Hogwarts Transfiguration teacher, deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor. Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, the Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. Pettigrew has no lines in this film, but appears as a servant at Snape's house. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, a member of the Order of the Phoenix and Harry's ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, the Weasley matriarch and a mother figure to Harry. Production Development Before David Yates was officially chosen to direct the film, many directors had expressed an interest in taking the helm. Alfonso Cuarón, the director of the third film, stated he "would love to have the opportunity" to return. Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell declined a spot to direct the fifth film, and was not approached for this one. Guillermo del Toro turned down the chance to direct the film in order to direct Hellboy II: The Golden Army. Terry Gilliam was Rowling's personal choice to direct Philosopher's Stone. When asked whether he would consider directing a later film, Gilliam said, "Warner Bros. had their chance the first time around, and they blew it." In an interview with Dark Horizons, Yates said that "I was still working on Order of the Phoenix when they asked me to do Half-Blood Prince. So they were really delighted with the material that they were seeing while we were in post-production, and the conversations happened before the movie was released, because I had to start pre-production on it while Order of the Phoenix was being promoted. It was just something they see in the work that they really liked, and responded to." Yates described Half-Blood Prince as being "a cross between the chills of Prisoner of Azkaban and the fantastical adventure of Goblet of Fire." Emma Watson considered not returning for the film, but eventually decided that, "the pluses outweighed the minuses," and could not bear to see anyone else play Hermione. Composer Nicholas Hooper returned from the last film; he included a reworking of John Williams's "Hedwig's Theme", which has recurred in all scores. Also maintained were costume designer Jany Temime, visual effects supervisor Tim Burke, creature and make-up effects designer Nick Dudman, and special effects supervisor John Richardson from the third film. Yates and Heyman have noted that some of the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows influenced the script of Half-Blood Prince. Casting Christian Coulson, who played the young Tom Riddle in Chamber of Secrets, expressed an interest in returning in the role for flashback sequences; Yates responded that Coulson was too old, nearing 30, to be playing the role. Jamie Campbell Bower, who appeared in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, previously noted that he had his "fingers crossed" he would be cast as a young Riddle. (Bower was, however, later cast as the teenage Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.) Thomas James Longley was the original choice to take on the role but Riddle was ultimately played by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin as a child and Frank Dillane as a teenager. Helen McCrory appears as Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother and younger sister of Bellatrix. McCrory was originally cast as Bellatrix in Order of the Phoenix, but had to drop out due to pregnancy. Naomi Watts was previously reported as having accepted the role, only for it to be denied by her agency. Both Clémence Poésy, who had played Fleur Delacour, and Chris Rankin, who had played Percy Weasley, were interested in returning, but did not appear in the film. After Bill Nighy expressed an interest in appearing, Yates confirmed that Nighy would be his first choice for the role of Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour. Scrimgeour's character was ultimately cut from the film, but Nighy appeared in his role in Deathly Hallows. Sets Stuart Craig, the production designer of the first five films, stayed on to design all the sets in Half-Blood Prince. Several new sets are introduced, including Tom Riddle's Orphanage, Astronomy Tower and the Cave. Craig noted that the film used several CGI sets, noticeably the interior of the Cave where Harry and Dumbledore both go to hunt Horcruxes. The exterior of the cave scene was filmed at the Cliffs of Moher in the west of Ireland, the only location to be filmed outside of the United Kingdom throughout the film series. The interior of the cave is made up of geometric crystal formations. Craig noted "Apart from the point at which Harry and Dumbledore first arrive and the island formation on which everything inside the cave happens, the set is entirely virtual, designed in the computer. We'd had our first totally virtual set on the last film, so we approached this one with a bit more confidence." Filming Before filming began, there was belief that filming might move from the UK, where all previous films were shot. The crew also scouted around Cape Wrath in Scotland, for use in the cave scene. Filming returned to Glen Coe and Glenfinnan, both which have appeared in the previous films, to preserve the continuity of the landscape. Following a week of rehearsals, principal photography began on 24 September 2007 and ended on 17 May 2008. Though Radcliffe, Gambon and Broadbent started shooting in late September 2007, some other cast members started much later: Grint did not begin until November 2007, Watson did not begin until December 2007, Rickman until January 2008, and Bonham Carter until February 2008. On the weekend of 6 October 2007, the crew shot scenes involving the Hogwarts Express in the misty and dewy environment of Fort William, Scotland. A series of night scenes were filmed in the village of Lacock and the cloisters at Lacock Abbey for three nights starting 25 October 2007. Filming took place from 5 pm to 5 am daily, and residents of the street were asked to black out their windows with dark blinds. On set reports indicated that the main scene filmed was Harry and Dumbledore's visit to Slughorn's house. Further filming took place in Surbiton railway station in October 2007, Gloucester Cathedral, where the first and second films were shot, in February 2008, and at the Millennium Bridge in London in March 2008. Cinematography Due to cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel's use of de-focussing and soft wipes in the digital grade, Warner Bros. asked director David Yates to add more colours to the film. Yates didn't want to lose the "very European look" of the film, but after retouching the picture, he said, "It's not what you wanted, but we're happy with it." After five minutes of watching the film, the studio were pleased with the changes. In an interview with Total Film, Yates said that "the choice of angles, the extreme close-ups, [and] the pacing of the scenes" made the film "incredibly rich". The palette and lighting was heavily inspired by the Dutch painter Rembrandt. Half-Blood Prince is the only film in the series to be nominated for the Best Cinematography accolade at the Academy Awards. One of the major challenges for Delbonnel was lighting the film. In an interview with the Academy, he said, "Some of the sets are there since the very first Potter. How could I light them in a different way? This question brought another one based on the series itself… I thought it would be interesting to have those very intimate stories amidst this very dark mood. As if the school was a dark character. That's when I suggested to go for this (again) dark moody variations of greys. Fortunately David Yates, and the producers liked the idea." In reference to the cave scene Delbonnel said, "I wanted to have some kind of 'dynamism' with the light. I thought it could be interesting and more dramatic if the light was floating, circling above the characters faces: sometimes lighting them, sometimes hiding them in a very random and unpredictable way." Visual effects Tim Burke and Tim Alexander were the visual effects supervisors for the film. Tim Alexander said that completing the Inferi-attack scene took several months. He said, "It's certainly much bolder and scarier than we imagined that they'd ever go in a 'Potter' movie. Director David Yates was cautious of not making this into a zombie movie, so we were constantly trying to figure out how not to make these dead people coming up look like zombies. A lot of it came down to their movement – they don't move fast, but they don't move really slow or groan and moan. We ended up going with a very realistic style." He also noted that Inferi are skinnier than zombies, waterlogged and grey. About Dumbledore's ring of fire, he noted that the effect would look as if someone sprayed propane and then lit it. He added, "We did a lot of research on molten volcanoes, which have a lot of heat going on but no actual flames, and collected a bunch of other references, including flares that burn underwater, and showed them to the Potter folks." The visual effects team emulated these six fire parameters: heat ripples, smoke, buoyancy, viscosity, opacity, and brightness. Since the0 whole fire scene was very time consuming, computer graphics artist Chris Horvath spent eight months finding a faster way to conjure flames. The opening scenes of the Death Eaters' attack on Diagon Alley and London was created by Double Negative, led by VFX Supervisor Paul Franklin. Double Negative spent six months surveying and documenting the environment around the River Thames and Trafalgar Square to create the swooping views of the city. Double Negative also contributed the Pensieve sequences, developing complex directed fluid simulations to realise the swirling world of memory and the past. Music The film's score was composed by Nicholas Hooper, who also composed the music for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. The soundtrack was released on an Audio CD format on 14 July 2009, a day before the film was released in cinemas. The album debuted at number twenty-nine on the Billboard 200 chart, thus making it the highest-charting soundtrack among all the six movie soundtracks released. It was nominated for the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack Album For Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. Differences from the book While at the middle of the series in length, the film Half-Blood Prince did add or change events in the literary canon. The book begins with a scene involving the Muggle Prime Minister. Yates and his crew debated over this scene, as well as the character Rufus Scrimgeour, but gave up the beginning of the movie to events described but not seen in the book. Yates thought it would give the audience a feel for what the Death Eaters were doing if they showed the collapse of the Millennium Bridge rather than simply describe it (as was done with the Brockdale Bridge in the book). As with Goblet of Fire, the Dursleys were cut, which Steve Kloves did to "break the pattern". Further background of Tom Riddle was removed, such as the Gaunts because they felt it more important to concentrate on Riddle as a young boy, and an additional action scene at the Burrow was added to keep with the tone of the franchise. Yates felt that they needed "an injection of jeopardy and danger" and that without it there was too much comedy and lightness. A small battle scene at Hogwarts which happened during the end of the book was cut; Heyman commented that it was removed to "[avoid] repetition" with the forthcoming adaptation of the Battle of Hogwarts in Deathly Hallows. Dumbledore's funeral was removed as it was believed it did not fit with the rest of the film. Distribution Marketing Warner Bros. has spent an estimated $155 million to market and distribute the film. The special-edition two-disc DVD for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix contained two sneak peeks of the film, while the US edition included an additional clip. A 15-second teaser for the film was shown alongside the IMAX release of The Dark Knight. The first full-length US teaser trailer was released on 29 July on AOL's Moviefone website. An international teaser was released on 26 October and another teaser trailer was released. The US theatrical trailer was released on 14 November. Another trailer was screened on the Japanese TV station Fuji TV during a screening of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on 18 January 2009. Scenes from the film were aired during ABC Family's Harry Potter marathon which took place 5–7 December 2008. On 5 February 2009, the first three promotional teaser posters were released, featuring Dumbledore and Harry. On 5 March and 16 April 2009, new trailers were released by Warner Bros. Warner Bros and MSN ran an online Order of the Phoenix quiz, with the prize being a walk-on part in the Half-Blood Prince. As with the previous films, EA Games produced a video game based on the film. On 10 March 2009, it was announced that there would be a video game soundtrack, which was released on 17 March 2009. On 27 March six character posters were released: Harry, Dumbledore, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Professor Snape. An English version of the international trailer and a Japanese version of the international trailer were released online 10 April. On 8 May, CW Channel aired a 30-second TV spot, which focused on the romantic side of the film. On 20 May, first clip from the film was released through The Ellen DeGeneres Show's official website, showing love-struck Ron. Another clip of the film, showing Dumbledore visiting Tom Riddle's Orphanage was released on 31 May 2009, at MTV Awards. Theatrical release The film was released in the United Kingdom, United States, France, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, New Zealand, India, Brazil, Spain and Mexico on 15 July 2009. It was originally set to be released on 21 November 2008, but was pushed back by eight months to 17 July, despite being completed. Warner Bros. executive Alan F. Horn noted that the move was meant "to guarantee the studio a major summer blockbuster in 2009," with other films being delayed due to the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike. The box-office success of summer WB films Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and The Dark Knight also motivated the decision. An unnamed rival studio executive told Entertainment Weekly that the move was to "stop next year's profits from looking seriously underwhelming after the phenomenal success of The Dark Knight," as "they don't need the money this year anymore." Dan Fellman, WB head of distribution, said that the studio had considered the date change for three to four weeks prior to the announcement, but gave it serious consideration a week before they came to their final decision. Three months before its release in July, the date was again changed by 2 days from 17 to 15 July, so it could open on a Wednesday like most tentpole summer movies. The date change was met with a heavily negative reaction by Harry Potter fans, as the Los Angeles Times noted: "Petitions were circulating, rumors were flying and angry screeds were being posted on Internet sites within minutes of the Thursday announcement." The move was mocked by Entertainment Weekly which had Half-Blood Prince on the cover on its "Fall Preview Issue". Despite each being owned by Time Warner Inc., EW was unaware of the change until it was publicly announced by WB and noted that readers would now be in possession of a "Dewey Defeats Truman collectible". Several days after the announcement, Horn released a statement in response to the "large amount of disappointment" expressed by fans of the series. Following the date change, Half-Blood Prince's release slot was taken by Summit Entertainment's Twilight and Walt Disney Pictures' Bolt. The sixth film was simultaneously released in regular cinemas and IMAX 3D everywhere but the United States, due to a conflicting agreement in which Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was given a four-week window by itself in IMAX in that country. Therefore, the IMAX 3D version of the film was released on 29 July 2009 there. The film's opening sequence featuring the destruction of the Millennium Bridge was in 3D. The film had been chosen to be screened at the 2008 Royal Film Performance on 17 November, but was not shown. Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund chief executive Peter Hore noted he was "very disappointed" with Warner Bros' decision. Advance ticket sales on Fandango.com for Half-Blood Prince surpassed advance ticket sales for Transformers 2 at the same point in sale cycles. It is also in MovieTickets.com's top 25 advance sellers of all time. Running 153 minutes (2 hours 33 minutes and 19 seconds) long, Half-Blood Prince is the third-longest film in the series, behind Chamber of Secrets (161 minutes) and Goblet of Fire (157 minutes). Home media Like the previous films, a 1-disc and 2-disc special edition for the film was released on Blu-ray with a Digital Copy and DVD on 7 December 2009 in the United Kingdom, and 8 December 2009 in the United States. The Blu-ray and DVD includes an 11-minute, 38-second feature on the new Wizarding World of Harry Potter mini theme park which opened on 18 June 2010 at Islands of Adventure in Orlando, Florida. Also included are deleted scenes comprising 8 scenes with a running length of 6 minutes and 31 seconds, and a sneak peek of the next Harry Potter movie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010). The Blu-ray and DVD released in India, the Philippines, South Africa, Czech Republic and Israel on 16 November 2009, making them the first countries to get the Half Blood Prince DVD release before the UK and the US. The release date for Australia and New Zealand was 18 November and for Brazil and Chile, 19 November. The Blu-ray and two-disc DVD editions in North America includes a digital copy of the film. In the United Kingdom, the DVD release became the fastest-selling DVD of the year with an estimated 840,000 copies of the film sold in a few hours. In the US, the DVD made a strong debut at number one in both the DVD and Blu-ray markets widely beating out any competition with sales of 4,199,622 copies. Worldwide DVD and Blu-ray sales of the film show that it is the fastest-selling film of 2009. On 14 June 2011, an Ultimate Edition was released simultaneously with the Ultimate Edition of the Order of the Phoenix film on both Blu-ray and DVD, containing new bonus features, documentaries and collectables. Reception Box office Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince broke the then-record for biggest midnight showings, making $22.8 million in 3,000 cinemas; The Twilight Saga: New Moon bested this with $26.3 million. Half-Blood Prince opened in the same Wednesday slot that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix did in 2007, which grossed $12 million in midnight runs, on its way to $139.7 million in its five-day debut in the US. The film's box office run was over on 17 December 2009. The film opened in 4,325 cinemas (rising to 4,455 three weeks later, becoming the largest number of cinemas until The Twilight Saga: Eclipse surpassed it with the 4,468 cinemas) and grossed $58.2 million on its opening day at the top of the United States and Canadian box office, the third-highest Wednesday opening of all time behind Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It is also the nineteenth-highest single-day gross of all time and the third-highest for a film in the Harry Potter franchise behind Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2's $91.1 million and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, which made $61.1 million. It earned an additional $46 million overseas for a worldwide total of $104 million, breaking the record for highest single-day worldwide gross, previously held by The Dark Knight. By 20 July, the film had taken in $158.7 million in the US and $236 million from 85 other markets, for a worldwide tally of $394.7 million. This broke the record for biggest-ever worldwide five-day opening, surpassing Spider-Man 3's $381 million; this makes the film the fastest to reach the $350 million mark in worldwide box office of all time. In the US, it surpassed all of its predecessors by a wide margin, achieving the sixth-largest-ever five-day opening in that country. The film held this record for two years until it was topped by Deathly Hallows – Part 2 ($483.2 million). In the UK, the film grossed £19.75 million (equivalent to about $38.13 million), the highest opening for both the series and releases of 2009. At the end of the film's US and Canadian box office run the total ticket sales of the film were $302 million, making it the third most successful film in the franchise, after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, as well as the third-highest-grossing film of 2009 in these regions behind Avatar and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. As with all of the previous films in the franchise, Half-Blood Prince proved to be extremely successful globally with an estimated non-US total gross of $632.5 million, totalling approximately $934.4 million worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2009, behind Avatar, and the 34th-highest-grossing film of all time, unadjusted for inflation. It is the fifth-highest-grossing film in the franchise, behind Philosopher's Stone, both parts of Deathly Hallows, and Order of the Phoenix. In South Africa the film opened with the number one position grossing $789,176, it maintained a number one position during the second week, too, with a total of $242,336. In Australia, as in most of the world, the film broke records with a debut of $11,492,142 and opening at number one, maintaining a second week at number one with a total of $5,278,096 (down 54%), and grossed a total of $24,208,243. In France the film debuted at $20,541,239 from 949 cinemas. Critical response On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 84% based on 272 reviews, with an average rating of 7.12/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Dark, thrilling, and occasionally quite funny, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is also visually stunning and emotionally satisfying." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 78 out of 100 based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". The film scored an 87 from professional critics at the Broadcast Film Critics Association; it is the first Harry Potter film to receive a Critic's Choice certificate. On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale. The first review of the film came three weeks before the official release. Paul Dergarabedian of Hollywood.com ranked the film with The Lord of the Rings film trilogy and called the film a "possible Oscar contender". He highly praised the performance of Sir Michael Gambon, Alan Rickman and Daniel Radcliffe. He commented, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is a tour-de-force that combines style and substance, special effects and heart and most importantly great performances from all of the actors young and not-so-young". Another early review came from the UK tabloid The Sun, whose anonymous reviewer called the film "masterful" and "very emotional". The reviewer praised David Yates's directing and called Jim Broadbent's portrayal of Horace Slughorn "perfect". Devin Faraci of Chud.com called the film not only the best Harry Potter film yet, but also one of the best films of the year. Andrew Pulver of The Guardian wrote a positive review, and gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars rating. Todd McCarthy of the trade magazine Variety said that the film is "dazzlingly well made" and "less fanciful than the previous entries". He praised Alan Rickman's performance and he described Helena Bonham Carter as "mesmerising" and Jim Broadbent as a "grand eccentric old professor". BBC News's Tim Masters praised the film's cinematography, visual effects, production design, improved acting and darker plotline. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt noted that the film's first half is "jerky and explosive", but in the second half, the film finds better footing. He adds, "Composer Nicholas Hooper, cinematographer Bruno Delbonnel and designer Stuart Craig deliver a singularly muscular and vigorous chapter". Screen Daily called the film "[s]tunningly shot by Bruno Delbonnel in metallic hues leavened by buttery tones and the thumping beats of Nicholas Hooper's score bear little resemblance to the original and the overall effect is much less tween, much more grown-up". Chris Tilly of IGN UK commented on the length of the film, saying "while on occasion it drags, the 153-minute run-time never feels too long, thanks in no small part to the astonishing visuals and (largely) marvellous performances," and goes on to say, "This is by far the best-looking of the Potter films thus far," commending the "beautiful" Quidditch match and the "stunning" finale. However, Dave Golder of SFX magazine found some aspects of the film to be a disappointment, largely due to the large number of opportunities the director and screenwriter had sacrificed to devote "huge swathes of the film to subplots of Harry and his chums' teenage romances," but nevertheless found the film to be a large enjoyment, praising the performances of Jim Broadbent and Alan Rickman. David Stratton, of Margaret and David at the Movies, gave the film a 2.5 out of a possible 5 stars, remarking, "For non-readers [of the Harry Potter series] the films are now borderline incomprehensible", and that the film was "a little tedious" and "generally less interesting visually than its predecessors." He praised the cast, describing them as "consummate", adding Sir Michael Gambon "really makes Dumbledore an imposing character" and Jim Broadbent was "wonderful". Margaret Pomeranz, the co-host of the television show, gave the film 3 out of 5 stars. At the time of its release, Rowling stated that Half-Blood Prince was her "favourite one" of the six film adaptations. Radcliffe, however, was critical of his own performance in the film, stating in an interview in 2014 that he was "just not very good in it", and calling it "hard to watch". Accolades The film was nominated for BAFTA Awards in Production Design and Visual Effects, and was in the longlists for five other categories, including Best Supporting Actor for Alan Rickman. Bruno Delbonnel was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Cinematography at the 82nd Academy Awards. The film was also one of the final seven contenders for Best Visual Effects. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the first of two cinematic parts based on J. K. Rowling's 2007 novel of the same name and features an ensemble cast. The film, which is the seventh and penultimate instalment in the Harry Potter film series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman, David Barron, and Rowling. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint and Emma Watson, respectively, reprising roles as Harry's best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. It is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and is followed by the concluding entry, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. The story follows Harry Potter, who has been tasked by Dumbledore with finding and destroying Lord Voldemort's secret to immortality – the Horcruxes. Filming began on 19 February 2009 and was completed on 12 June 2010. Part 1 was released in 2D cinemas and IMAX formats worldwide on 19 November 2010. In the film's worldwide opening weekend, Part 1 grossed $330 million, the third-highest in the series, and the highest opening of 2010, as well as the eighth-highest of all time. With a worldwide gross of $960 million, Part 1 is the third highest-grossing film of 2010, behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland, and the third-highest-grossing Harry Potter film in terms of worldwide totals, behind Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and Philosopher's Stone. The film at one point became the tenth highest-grossing film of all time (behind Avatar, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Toy Story 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Alice in Wonderland, The Dark Knight, Philosopher's Stone and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End), and was the 46th as of May 2019. Additionally, it received two nominations at the 83rd Academy Awards: Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects. The Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour addresses the wizarding media, stating that the Ministry remains strong despite Lord Voldemort gaining power and the Death Eaters committing mass killings of Muggles and infiltrating the Ministry. Meanwhile, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger resolve to complete the mission Albus Dumbledore gave Harry by hunting down and destroying Voldemort's Horcruxes. Severus Snape informs Voldemort of Harry's impending departure from Privet Drive. Voldemort commandeers Lucius Malfoy's wand, due to his own wand sharing the same core as Harry's and therefore being unable to kill him. The Order of the Phoenix escort Harry to safety using Polyjuice Potion. During their flight, they are ambushed by Death Eaters who kill Mad-Eye Moody and Hedwig, injure George Weasley, and incapacitate Rubeus Hagrid. Arriving at The Burrow, Harry has a vision of the wand-maker Gregorovitch being tortured by Voldemort. The next day, Scrimgeour arrives with Dumbledore's will. Ron receives Dumbledore's Deluminator, Hermione receives a copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard, and Harry receives the first Golden Snitch that he caught in a Quidditch match. Scrimgeour reveals that Harry was also bequeathed the Sword of Gryffindor, which has gone missing. The Death Eaters kill Scrimgeour and replace him with Pius Thicknesse. The Ministry begins arresting and persecuting Muggle-born witches and wizards. Death Eaters also attack during Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour's wedding. Kingsley Shacklebolt's patronus charm forewarns the wedding party, and most escape. Harry, Hermione, and Ron disapparate to London, but are attacked in a diner by Death Eaters. The trio seek refuge at Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They discover that the "R.A.B." from the fake Horcrux locket is Regulus Arcturus Black, younger brother of Sirius Black. Kreacher, the Blacks' house elf, tells them that Mundungus Fletcher broke in and stole many items from the house, including the real locket. Kreacher and Dobby apprehend Fletcher, who reveals that the locket is in the possession of Dolores Umbridge. Using Polyjuice Potion, the trio infiltrate the Ministry and find the locket around Umbridge's neck. Harry stuns Umbridge and Hermione retrieves the locket. The trio escape their pursuers by apparating in the wilderness, but Ron is injured and cannot apparate again until he recovers. After unsuccessful attempts to destroy the Horcrux, the trio take turns wearing it to dilute its power. Harry sees a vision of Voldemort interrogating and killing the wand-maker Gregorovitch, who claims a teenage boy stole the legendary Elder Wand from his shop. While Ron is wearing the locket, he is overcome by negative feelings and falls out with Harry before abandoning him and Hermione. Hermione deduces that the Sword of Gryffindor can destroy Horcruxes and decides to go with Harry to Godric's Hollow. They visit Harry's parents' graves and the house where they were killed. They encounter Bathilda Bagshot, who they believe may have the sword. Bathilda lets them into her house before revealing herself as Nagini, possessing Bathilda's reanimated corpse. Hermione and Harry escape into the Forest of Dean, but Hermione accidentally breaks Harry's wand whilst fighting Nagini. She identifies the mysterious thief in Harry's vision as Gellert Grindelwald. Harry sees a Patronus in the form of a doe, which leads him to a frozen pond. Gryffindor's sword lies beneath the pond's ice, which Harry breaks and jumps into. The locket around his neck strangles Harry, but Ron arrives and rescues him. Harry uses parseltongue to open the Horcrux locket, which Ron eventually decides to destroy. Hermione and Ron reconcile, and the trio decide to visit Xenophilius Lovegood to learn more about a symbol left in the book Dumbledore left Hermione. Lovegood explains to them that the symbol represents the Deathly Hallows, three magical objects that can make a wizard master of Death. Hermione reads the story of the Hallows, after which the trio awkwardly attempt to leave but are stopped by Lovegood. He reveals that Luna Lovegood has been kidnapped and then summons the Death Eaters, intending to hand over Harry in exchange for her. Harry, Ron, and Hermione disapparate as Lovegood's house is destroyed. Back in the wilderness, the trio set up camp when Snatchers find them. Hermione uses a curse to disguise Harry as the Snatchers take them to Malfoy Manor. Bellatrix Lestrange imprisons Harry and Ron in the cellar with Luna, Ollivander, and Griphook the goblin. Bellatrix tortures Hermione for information on the Sword, which Bellatrix claims was in her vault at Gringott's. Harry requests help, communicating with a broken mirror in his possession. Dobby apparates into the cellar to save them. Harry and Ron rush to save Hermione, and a battle ensues that sees Harry disarm Draco Malfoy. Dobby drops a chandelier onto Bellatrix, forcing her to release Hermione. Bellatrix throws her knife at them as Dobby grabs everyone and disapparates. They arrive at Shell Cottage to find that Bellatrix's knife has fatally wounded Dobby. Harry insists that they bury Dobby without any magic. Meanwhile, Voldemort breaks into Dumbledore's tomb and steals the Elder Wand, revealed to have been in Dumbledore's possession. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, one of Harry's best friends. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, one of Harry's best friends. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, a Death Eater and Sirius Black's cousin and murderer. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Harry's half-giant friend, and gamekeeper at Hogwarts. Warwick Davis as Griphook, a goblin and former employee at Gringotts Bank. Davis replaced Verne Troyer, who portrayed the character physically in the first film, though Davis had dubbed Griphook's lines. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, a Death Eater and son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, an evil, power-hungry wizard, and the leader of the Death Eaters. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, former headmaster of Hogwarts killed by Severus Snape in the previous film. Brendan Gleeson as Alastor 'Mad-Eye' Moody, a member of the Order of the Phoenix. Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley, Harry's Muggle uncle. John Hurt as Garrick Ollivander, a wandmaker abducted by the Death Eaters. Rhys Ifans as Xenophilius Lovegood, the eccentric father of the trio's friend Luna. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father and a disgraced Death Eater. Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour, the new Minister of Magic. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, a double agent to the Death Eaters and the new headmaster of Hogwarts. Fiona Shaw as Petunia Dursley, Harry's Muggle aunt. Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew, the Death Eater who betrayed Harry's parents to Voldemort. Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister and Head of the Muggle-born Registration Commission. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a former teacher at Hogwarts. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, the Weasley matriarch and a mother figure to Harry. Bonnie Wright as Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister and Harry's love interest Production Part 1 was filmed back-to-back with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 from 19 February 2009 to 12 June 2010. Director David Yates, who shot the film alongside director of photography Eduardo Serra, described Part 1 as "quite real"; a "road movie" that's "almost like a vérité documentary". Originally set for a single theatrical release, the idea to split the book into two parts was suggested by executive producer Lionel Wigram due to what David Heyman called "creative imperative". Heyman initially responded negatively to the idea, but Wigram asked, "No, David. How are we going to do it?". After rereading the book and discussing it with screenwriter Steve Kloves, he agreed with the division. The production filmed at the Dartford Crossing for the dramatic chase where Harry and Hagrid are being ambushed by Death Eaters. Sets Stuart Craig, set designer for all of the previous Harry Potter films, returned for the final two parts. He said, "We made a very different kind of film, which was shot a great deal on location. We travelled quite far, we built sets, and they spend a lot of time in a forest," he explained. "We built forest sets and integrated them into the real forests, so there were challenges there, as you might imagine." Craig was ultimately nominated for an Academy Award for his work on Part 1. On the wedding tent for Bill and Fleur's wedding in Part 1, Craig commented on his aim to "rather than make it an extension of the house, which is rather eccentric, homemade, we decided to make it rather elegant . . . It's lined with silk and beautiful, floating candelabra. So it's a nice contrast with the house." For the Ministry of Magic set, he noted, "This is an underground world; this is a ministry, so we went to the real ministries, the Muggle ministries – Whitehall, in London – and decided that our magical ministry was kind of a parallel universe to these real ministries." Craig also commented on his design of Malfoy Manor, saying that it is "a very strong architectural set. The exterior is based on an Elizabethan house here in this country called Hardwick Hall and it has massive windows, and these windows are kind of blinded out. The shutters are drawn so they are like blind windows and they have a real kind of presence, an ominous presence, so that gave us the basis for a good exterior. There's an extraordinary magical roof that's added and surrounded by forest which isn't there in reality, but again is one of the devices to make it more threatening and mysterious." Costumes The costumes for Part 1 were designed by Jany Temime, who has been the costume designer on Harry Potter productions since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). Temime was involved in a controversy regarding her work on Fleur Delacour's wedding dress. She was accused of copying the design from a similar dress from Alexander McQueen's Fall 2008 collection. Temime spoke about the dress, saying that she "wanted it to be a witch wedding dress but not a Halloween dress. The dress is white but it needed to have something fantastic to it. So there is the phoenix [motif], the bird, which is a symbol of love in a way because there is rebirth, love never dies, it is born again." Visual effects After working on every film since Prisoner of Azkaban, Double Negative was asked to provide visual effects for the final instalments of the story, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Parts 1 and 2. Working closely with the film's VFX Supervisor, Tim Burke, the team was led by VFX Supervisor, David Vickery and VFX Producer Charlotte Loughlane. The main team also included 3D Supervisor, Rick Leary and 2D Supervisor, Sean Stranks. Double Negative's work for Part 1 included the corroding Warner Brothers logo and extensive environment extensions of the Burrows and its surrounds. Additional environment work was completed on Xenophilius Lovegood's home, extending it in 3D and culminating in the Death Eaters' attack. Double Negative also advanced the Death Eaters' smoke effects, with the introduction of the 'flayed man' stage in between their smokey, fluid, flying state and their live-action presence upon landing. Other work included the Patronus charm that interrupts the wedding party to inform the guests that Voldemort has taken over the Ministry of Magic. The visual effects company Framestore produced most of the creature CGI, as in previous films, as well as the animated Tale of the Three Brothers sequence, which was directed and designed by Ben Hibon. Music Composer Nicholas Hooper, who scored Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince, did not return for Deathly Hallows. Instead, Alexandre Desplat was hired to compose the score for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1. The film also featured the song "O Children" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Distribution Marketing The first official picture from the first film was released on 1 December 2009, showing Harry, Ron and Hermione in a London street. A clip was officially released on 8 December 2009 with the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on Blu-ray and DVD. At the 2010 ShoWest convention, Alan F. Horn premiered unfinished footage from both films. The 2010 MTV Movie Awards premiered more footage from Deathly Hallows. Following this was the release of the official teaser poster, which shows the release date of both Part 1 and Part 2 and a destroyed Hogwarts castle. ABC Family broadcast interviews and additional scenes from both parts during their Harry Potter weekend, which began on 8 July 2010. A two-minute trailer for the film was released worldwide on 22 September 2010. On 29 September 2010, three character posters for Part 1 of Harry, Ron, and Hermione were released by Yahoo! Movies. The following day, a Part 1 cinema poster was released featuring the trio on the run in a forest. The theatrical poster has the tagline "Nowhere is safe", and another version with no credits has the tagline "The end begins". Various other character posters for Part 1 were released on 6 October 2010, featuring Harry, Ron, Hermione, Lord Voldemort, Bellatrix Lestrange, Severus Snape and Fenrir Greyback. On 12 October, four new character posters were released. The posters are set to the theme of "Trust no one" and "The hunt begins". On 15 October 2010, tickets began selling on Fandango for the US release of Part 1, and on 19 October, a 50-second clip featuring never-before-seen footage was aired at the 2010 Scream Awards. On 16 October, the second TV spot was released on Cartoon Network during a premiere of Scooby-Doo! Curse of the Lake Monster. On 25 October 2010, Yahoo! Movies released an exclusive featurette of the film. On 30 October 2010, Entertainment Weekly released two new featurettes titled "Horcruxes" and "The Story", featuring a large amount of never-before-seen footage. On the same day, the Warner Bros. Harry Potter website was updated to reveal twelve miniature clips from the film. On 3 November 2010, the Los Angeles Times released an extended clip of Harry leaving the Burrow to find the Horcruxes, titled "No One Else Is Going to Die for Me". On 4 November, a new clip was released from the Harry Potter Facebook page, titled "The Seven Potters". Two more clips were released over the next two days, including a scene depicting a café attack and another taking place in Malfoy Manor. Theatrical release On 26 August 2010, director David Yates, producers David Heyman and David Barron, and with Warner Bros. president Alan F. Horn attended a test screening for Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in Chicago. The unfinished film gained rave reviews from test screeners, some of whom labelled it "amazing and dark" and "the most perfect Harry Potter film". Others expressed that the film faithfully adapted the novel, which led to an inheritance of the "book's own problems". Warner Bros. Pictures was originally going to release Part 1 of Deathly Hallows in 2D and 3D formats. On 8 October 2010, it was announced that plans for a 3D version of Part 1 had been scrapped. "Warner Bros. Pictures has made the decision to release Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 in 2D, in both conventional and IMAX cinemas [because] we will not have a completed 3D version of the film within our release date window. Despite everyone's best efforts, we were unable to convert the film in its entirety and meet the highest standards of quality." Part 1 of Deathly Hallows was released on Blu-ray 3D as a Best Buy Exclusive. Part 2 was still released in 2D, 3D, and IMAX formats. The world premiere for Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was held in Leicester Square in London on 11 November 2010, with fans from across the world turning up – some of whom had camped for days in the square. This was followed by the Belgian premiere on 12 November and the US premiere in New York City on 15 November. Just 48 hours prior to the official North American launch of Part 1, the first 36 minutes of the film were leaked on the internet. Even before the leak, the film was already the fifth-biggest generator of advance ticket sales in history, after selling out 1,000 cinemas across the United States. Despite widely circulating rumours that the leaked footage was a marketing ploy to generate hype for the movie release date, no screener discs had been created by Warner Bros., and executives called it "a serious breach of copyright violation and theft of Warner Bros. property". In Australia, the film had its premiere on 13 November at Warner Bros. Movie World, located on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Three hundred people attended the viewing, which was the second official showing in the world, behind the UK premiere. The film premiered in Kuwait's release on 16 November. In Israel, Estonia, and New Zealand, the film was released on 18 November. Home media Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was released on a single and double disc DVD and 3-disc Blu-ray combo pack on 11 April 2011 in the UK and on 15 April 2011 in the US. On 28 January 2011, it was announced by Emma Watson on the Harry Potter UK Facebook page that the page's fans will get to vote for their preferred cover for the Part 1 Blu-ray. The cover with the most votes will be the cover for the disc. Voting started that same day. The DVD and Blu-ray include eight deleted scenes, with the Blu-ray Combo Pack containing an opening scene from Part 2 featuring Harry and Ollivander discussing the Deathly Hallows. Deathly Hallows – Part 1 performed well in DVD sales, selling 7,237,437 DVD units and adding $86,932,256 to the gross revenue of the film, bringing the total to $1,043,331,967. Reception Box office Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 grossed $24 million in North America during its midnight showing, beating the record for the highest midnight gross of the series, previously held by Half Blood Prince, at $22.2 million. The film also had the third-highest midnight gross of all time, behind The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and The Twilight Saga: New Moon, which grossed $30 million and $26.3 million, respectively. The film broke the record for the highest midnight gross in IMAX, with $1.4 million in box office sales, surpassing Eclipse, which grossed $1 million. All of these records were later topped in 2011 by the film's sequel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. In North America, the film grossed $61.7 million on its opening day, marking the sixth highest single day gross ever at the time. It became the highest opening day for a Harry Potter film in the series, a record previously held by Half-Blood Prince with $58.2 million, until it was broken by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 with $92.1 million. The film grossed a total of $125 million in its opening weekend, marking the largest opening for the franchise, previously held by Goblet of Fire and later topped by its sequel Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. It also was the second biggest November opening ever at the time, behind The Twilight Saga: New Moon's $142.8 million, the ninth biggest weekend opening for a film of all time at the North American box office, and the second biggest opening weekend for a 2010 film in the United States and Canada behind Iron Man 2's $128.1 million. The film stayed at the top of the box office for two weeks, grossing $75 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend, bringing its total to $219.1 million. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Malta, the film broke records for the highest Friday gross (£5.9 million), Saturday gross (£6.6 million), and Sunday gross (£5.7 million). Additionally, the film set the largest single day gross (£6.6 million) and the largest opening three-day gross (£18,319,721), a record previously held by Quantum of Solace, which grossed £15.4 million. As of 13 February 2011, Part 1 has grossed £52,404,464 ($86,020,929), becoming the second highest-grossing 2010 release in the country, behind Toy Story 3 (£73,405,113). Outside North America, the film grossed an estimated $205 million in its opening weekend, becoming the sixth highest of all time, the highest for a 2010 release, and the second highest for a Harry Potter movie, behind only Half-Blood Prince. Globally, the film grossed $330 million in its opening weekend, ranking seventh on the all-time chart. It was the highest grossing 2010 film in Indonesia ($6,149,448), Singapore ($4,546,240), Thailand ($4,933,136), Belgium and Luxembourg ($8,944,329), France and the Maghreb region ($51,104,397), Germany ($61,430,098), the Netherlands ($13,790,585), Norway ($7,144,020), Sweden ($11,209,387), and Australia ($41,350,865). In total overseas earnings, it surpassed Philosopher's Stone ($657.2 million) to become the highest grossing Harry Potter film overseas. On 7 April 2011, Part 1 ended its run with $295,983,305 in the United States and Canada, making it the fifth highest-grossing film of 2010 in these regions, and $664,300,000 from other countries around the world, for a worldwide total of $960,283,305, making it the third highest-grossing film of 2010 worldwide behind Toy Story 3 and Alice in Wonderland, as well as the 38th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide and the third highest grossing Harry Potter film in the series behind The Deathly Hallows – Part 2 and The Philosopher's Stone. Due to the success of the sequel in Germany, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 could return to No. 9 on the country's Cinema Charts with 28,000 viewers in July 2011. Critical response Review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film an approval rating of 78% based on 272 reviews, with an average score of 7.14/10. The site's consensus reads, "It can't help but feel like the prelude it is, but Deathly Hallows: Part I is a beautifully filmed, emotionally satisfying penultimate installment for the Harry Potter series." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating to reviews, the film has a score of 65 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews". On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. The UK's Daily Telegraph also gave the film a positive review, remarking, "For the most part the action romps along, spurred by some impressive special effects," adding, "It's just slightly disappointing that, with the momentum having been established so effectively, we now have to wait until next year to enjoy the rest of the ride." Roger Ebert awarded the first part three out of four stars, praising the cast and calling it "a handsome and sometimes harrowing film . . . completely unintelligible for anyone coming to the series for the first time". Scott Bowles of USA Today called it, "Menacing and meditative, Hallows is arguably the best instalment of the planned eight-film franchise, though audiences who haven't kept up with previous chapters will be hopelessly lost", while Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly likewise praised the film as "the most cinematically rewarding chapter yet." In a review for the Orlando Sentinel, Roger Moore proclaimed Part I as "Alternately funny and touching, it's the best film in the series, an Empire Strikes Back for these wizards and their wizarding world. And those effects? They're so special you don't notice them." Ramin Setoodeh of Newsweek gave a negative review, writing, "They've taken one of the most enchanting series in contemporary fiction and sucked out all the magic . . . while Rowling's stories are endlessly inventive, Potter onscreen just gives you a headache." Lou Lumenick of the New York Post found the film to be "Beautifully shot but a soulless cash machine... [that] delivers no dramatic payoff, no resolution and not much fun." Accolades Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 was nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Visual Effects at the 83rd Academy Awards. It is the second film in the Harry Potter film series to be nominated for a Visual Effects Oscar (the previous one being Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban). The film was long-listed for eight different categories, including Best Cinematography, Production Design, and Original Score, at the 64th BAFTA awards, and ultimately was nominated for Best Special Visual Effects and Make-up. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is a 2011 fantasy film directed by David Yates and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the second of two cinematic parts based on J. K. Rowling's 2007 novel of the same name. The film, which is the eighth and final instalment in the Harry Potter series, was written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman, David Barron, and Rowling. The story continues to follow Harry Potter's quest to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes in order to stop him once and for all. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, alongside Rupert Grint and Emma Watson as Harry's best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Principal photography began on 19 February 2009, and was completed on 12 June 2010, with reshoots taking place in December 2010, more than ten years after filming started on the first instalment of the series. Part 2 was released in 2D, 3-D and IMAX cinemas worldwide from 13–15 July 2011, and is the only Harry Potter film to be released in 3-D. The film became a commercial success and one of the best reviewed films of 2011, with praise for the acting, Yates's direction, musical score, visual effects, cinematography, action sequences, and the satisfying conclusion of the saga. At the box office, Part 2 claimed the worldwide opening weekend record, earning $483.2 million, as well as setting opening day and opening weekend records in various countries. Part 2 grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide and became the third-highest-grossing film of all time, as well as the highest-grossing film of 2011. As of 2019, it is the 11th-highest-grossing film of all time, the highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, as well as in the Wizarding World franchise, and the ninth film to gross over $1 billion. It is also the highest-grossing film of Warner Bros. and its parent company WarnerMedia. The Blu-ray and DVD sets were released on 11 November 2011 in the United States and on 2 December 2011 in the United Kingdom. The film was also released in the Harry Potter: Complete 8-Film Collection box set on DVD and Blu-ray, which included all eight films and new special features. Part 1 and Part 2 were released as a combo pack on DVD and Blu-ray on 11 November 2011 in Canada. The film won several awards and was nominated for many more, including three nominations at the Academy Awards for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects. After burying Dobby, Harry Potter asks the goblin Griphook to help him, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger break into Bellatrix Lestrange's vault at Gringotts bank, suspecting a Horcrux may be there. Griphook agrees in exchange for the Sword of Gryffindor. Wandmaker Ollivander tells Harry that two wands taken from Malfoy Manor belonged to Bellatrix and Draco Malfoy, though Malfoy's has changed its allegiance to Harry. In the vault, Harry discovers the Horcrux is Helga Hufflepuff's cup. He retrieves it, but Griphook snatches the sword and abandons the trio, leaving them cornered by security. The three release the dragon guardian and flee on its back. Harry sees a vision of Lord Voldemort killing goblins including Griphook, and learns Voldemort is aware of the theft. Harry also realises there is a Horcrux at Hogwarts somehow connected to Rowena Ravenclaw. The trio apparate into Hogsmeade, where Aberforth Dumbledore reluctantly instructs the portrait of his deceased younger sister Ariana to fetch Neville Longbottom, who leads the trio through a secret passageway into Hogwarts. Severus Snape hears of Harry's return and warns staff and students of punishment for aiding Harry. Harry confronts Snape, who flees after Minerva McGonagall challenges him to a duel. McGonagall gathers the Hogwarts community for battle. At Luna Lovegood's insistence, Harry speaks to Helena Ravenclaw's ghost, who reveals that Voldemort performed "dark magic" on her mother's diadem, located in the Room of Requirement. In the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione destroys the Horcrux cup with a Basilisk fang. In the Room of Requirement, Draco, Blaise Zabini and Gregory Goyle attack Harry, but Ron and Hermione intervene. Goyle casts a Fiendfyre curse; unable to control it, he is burned to death while Harry and his friends save Malfoy and Zabini. Harry stabs the diadem with the Basilisk fang, and Ron kicks it into the Room of Requirement to be destroyed. As Voldemort's army attacks, Harry, seeing into Voldemort's mind, realises that Voldemort's snake Nagini is the final Horcrux. After entering the boathouse, the trio witness Voldemort telling Snape that the Elder Wand cannot serve Voldemort until Snape dies; he then orders Nagini to kill Snape. Before dying, Snape tells Harry to take his memories to the Pensieve. Meanwhile, Fred Weasley, Remus Lupin, and Nymphadora Tonks are killed in the chaos at Hogwarts. Harry learns from Snape's memories that while Snape despised Harry's late father James, who bullied him, he loved his late mother Lily. Following her death, Snape worked with Albus Dumbledore to protect Harry from Voldemort due to his love for Lily. Harry also learns that Dumbledore was dying and wished for Snape to kill him, and that the Patronus doe he saw in the woods that led him to the sword was conjured by Snape. Harry discovers that he himself became a Horcrux when Voldemort originally failed to kill him; he must die to destroy the piece of Voldemort's soul within himself. Harry surrenders himself to Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest. Voldemort casts the Killing Curse upon Harry, who finds himself in limbo. Dumbledore's spirit meets him and explains that the part of Voldemort within Harry was killed by Voldemort's curse. Harry returns to his body, determined to defeat Voldemort. Voldemort announces Harry's apparent death to everyone at Hogwarts and demands their surrender. As Neville gives a defiant response and draws the sword from the Sorting Hat, Harry reveals he is still alive; the Malfoys and many Death Eaters abandon Voldemort. While Harry confronts Voldemort in a duel throughout the castle, Molly Weasley kills Bellatrix in the Great Hall and Neville decapitates Nagini, making Voldemort mortal. Harry and Voldemort's fight ends with Voldemort's own Killing Curse rebounding and obliterating him. After the battle, Harry explains to Ron and Hermione that the Elder Wand recognised him as its true master after he disarmed Draco, who had earlier disarmed its previous owner, Dumbledore. Harry destroys the Elder Wand rather than claim it. Nineteen years later, Harry, Ginny Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and Draco proudly watch their own children leave for Hogwarts at King's Cross station. Cast Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, one of Harry's best friends. Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, Harry's other best friend, and the brain of the trio. Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, a Death Eater and Sirius Black's cousin and murderer. Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid, Harry's half-giant friend and a former member of the staff of Hogwarts. Warwick Davis as Filius Flitwick, the Charms master and Head of the Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts; and Griphook, a goblin and former employee at Gringotts Bank. Tom Felton as Draco Malfoy, Harry's former school rival, a former Death Eater, and son of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy (Helen McCrory). Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort, a twisted, evil, power-hungry, powerful wizard, and the founder and supreme leader of the Death Eaters. Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore, the late headmaster of Hogwarts John Hurt as Mr. Ollivander, a wandmaker abducted by the Death Eaters. Jason Isaacs as Lucius Malfoy, Draco Malfoy's father and a disgraced Death Eater. Kelly Macdonald as Helena Ravenclaw, the ghost of Ravenclaw at Hogwarts. Gary Oldman as Sirius Black, Harry's late godfather. Alan Rickman as Severus Snape, former Head of the Slytherin House and Potions and Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and the new headmaster of Hogwarts. Maggie Smith as Minerva McGonagall, the Transfiguration teacher and the Head of the Gryffindor house at Hogwarts. David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, a member of the Order of the Phoenix and a former Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Julie Walters as Molly Weasley, the Weasley matriarch Casting The roles of several minor characters were recast or replaced for this film. For example, Ciarán Hinds assumed the role of Aberforth Dumbledore, Albus Dumbledore's brother and bartender of the Hog's Head inn. In the book, a significant number of characters who have not appeared since some of the earlier novels, reappear to defend Hogwarts in the large, final battle. Director David Yates said, "I want to get them all back", referring to his desire to bring back as many actors who have appeared in the franchise as possible for the climactic battle sequence in the film. Sean Biggerstaff, Jim Broadbent, Gemma Jones, Miriam Margolyes, and Emma Thompson reprise their roles from earlier films briefly during the battle scene. For the final scene in the film which is set nineteen years after the film's main story, the actors playing the main characters were made to look older through the use of makeup and special effects. After the initial look of the actors' aged appearances leaked onto the Internet, some fans reacted by opining that Radcliffe and Grint looked too old, while Watson did not appear significantly different at all. After primary filming concluded in June 2010, Yates examined the footage, and concluded that the problem could not be resolved through editing or CGI, and had the sequence re-shot that December, with redesigned makeup. Production Part 2 was filmed back-to-back with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 from 19 February 2009 to 12 June 2010, with reshoots for the epilogue scene taking place at Leavesden Film Studios on 21 December 2010. Director David Yates, who shot the film with director of photography Eduardo Serra, described Part 2 as "operatic, colourful and fantasy-oriented", a "big opera with huge battles." Originally set for a single theatrical release, the idea to split the book into two parts was suggested by executive producer Lionel Wigram due to, what David Heyman called, "creative imperative". Heyman initially responded negatively to the idea, but Wigram asked, "No, David. How are we going to do it?". After rereading the book and discussing it with screenwriter Steve Kloves, he agreed with the division. Sets In an interview with Architectural Digest, production designer Stuart Craig remarked on creating sets for Part 2. Of the Gringotts Wizarding Bank, he said, "our banking hall, like any other, is made of marble and big marble columns. And it has great strength. The fact that the goblins are the bankers and tellers at the counter helps that feeling of grandeur and solidity and the big proportions. That was part of the fun of the set: we exaggerated the size of it, we exaggerated the weight of it, and we even exaggerated the shine of the marble." About the multiplication of treasure in one of the bank's vaults, he noted, "We made literally thousands of pieces for it and vacuum metallised them to be shiny gold and silver. John Richardson, the special effects supervisor, made a floor that was capable of rising on different levels, so there was kind of a physical swelling of the treasure on it." Craig spoke about the Battle of Hogwarts to Art Insights Magazine, saying that "the great challenge is the destruction of Hogwarts. The sun rising behind the smoke ... the massive remains of destroyed walls, the entrance hall, the entrance of the Great Hall, part of the roof of the Great Hall completely gone, so yeah. A big challenge there and an enjoyable one really – maybe it helped me and the guys in the art department sort of prepare for the end ... we demolished it before we had to strike it completely." When asked about the King's Cross scene near the end of the film, Craig said, "We experimented a lot, quite honestly. I mean it was quite a protracted process really but we did experiment the sense of it being very burnt out very very kind of white – so we experimented with underlit floors, we experimented with different kind of white covering everything: white paint, white fabric, and the cameraman was involved in how much to expose it, and a series of camera tests were done, so we got there but with a great deal of preparation and research." Visual effects Visual effects supervisor Tim Burke said that "It was such a major job to stage the Battle of Hogwarts, and we had to do it in different stages of production. We had shots with complex linking camera moves from wide overviews, to flying into windows and interior spaces. So, we took the plunge at the end of 2008, and started rebuilding the school digitally with Double Negative." He went on to say that "It's taken two years – getting renders out, texturing every facet of the building, constructing interiors to see through windows, building a destruction version of the school. We can design shots with the knowledge that we have this brilliant digital miniature that we can do anything with. With a practical Hogwarts, we would have shot it last summer and been so tied down. Instead, as David Yates finds the flow and structure, we are able to handle new concepts and ideas." On the quality of 3-D in film, Burke told Los Angeles Times, "I think it's good, actually. I think people are going to be really pleased. I know everyone's a little nervous and sceptical of 3-D these days, but the work has been done very, very well. We've done over 200 shots in 3-D and in the visual effects as well, because so much of it is CG, so the results are very, very good. I think everyone's going to be really impressed with it, actually." Producer David Heyman spoke to SFX magazine about the 3-D conversion, saying that "The way David Yates is approaching 3-D is he's trying to approach it from a character and story point of view. Trying to use the sense of isolation, of separation that sometimes 3-D gives you, to heighten that at appropriate moments. So we're approaching it in a storytelling way." In 2012, the visual effects in the film were nominated for an Oscar. The film also won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects at the 65th BAFTA Awards in 2012. Music It was confirmed that the composer for Part 1, Alexandre Desplat, was set to return for Part 2. In an interview with Film Music Magazine, Desplat stated that scoring Part 2 is "a great challenge" and that he has "a lot of expectations to fulfill and a great deal of work" ahead of him. In a separate interview, Desplat also made note that John Williams' themes will be present in the film "much more than in part one." The soundtrack for the film was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards. Distribution Marketing In March 2011, the first preview for Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was released revealing new footage and new interviews from the starring cast. The first United States poster was released on 28 March 2011, with the caption "It All Ends 7.15" (referring to its international release date). On 27 April 2011 the first theatrical trailer for Part 2 was released. The trailer revealed a range of new and old footage. The IMAX trailer for the film was released with IMAX screenings of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides on 20 May 2011. During the MTV Movie Awards on 5 June 2011, Emma Watson presented a sneak peek of the film. Theatrical release On 2 April 2011, a test screening of the film was held in Chicago, with director David Yates, producers David Heyman and David Barron and editor Mark Day in attendance. The film had its world premiere on 7 July 2011 at Trafalgar Square in London. The United States premiere was held in New York City at Lincoln Center on 11 July 2011. Although filmed in 2-D, the film was converted into 3-D in post-production and was released in both RealD 3D and IMAX 3D. The film was originally scheduled to open in Indonesia on 13 July 2011. The Indonesian government levied a new value added tax on royalties from foreign films in February 2011, causing three film studios, including Warner Brothers, to halt the importation of their films, including Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 into the country. The film was not released to cinemas in the Kingdom of Jordan due to recently enforced taxes on films. It had not been premiered in the Kingdom As of 13 August 2011. On 10 June, one month before the film's release, tickets went on sale. On 16 June 2011, Part 2 received a 12A certificate from the British Board of Film Classification, who note that the film "contains moderate threat, injury detail and language", becoming the only Harry Potter film to receive a warning for "injury detail". At midnight 15 July, Part 2 screened in 3,800 cinemas. In the United States, it played in 4,375 cinemas, 3,100 3D cinemas and 274 IMAX cinemas, the widest release for an IMAX, 3D and a Harry Potter film. Home media Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was released on 11 November 2011 in the United States in four formats: a one-disc standard DVD, a two-disc standard DVD special edition, a one-disc standard Blu-ray, and three-Disc Blu-ray 2D Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy). In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the film was released on 2 December 2011 in three formats: a two-disc standard DVD, a three-disc Blu-ray 2D Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy), and a four-disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray 2D + DVD + Digital Copy). The film set the record for fastest-selling pre-order DVD and Blu-ray on Amazon.com, just two days into the pre-order period. Deathly Hallows – Part 2 sold 2.71 million Blu-ray units ($60.75 million) in three days (Friday to Sunday). It also sold 2.83 million DVD units ($42.22 million) during its debut. By 18 July 2012 it had sold 4.71 million Blu-ray units ($99.33 million) and 6.47 million DVD units ($88.96 million). On 28 March 2017, Deathly Hallows – Part 2 made its Ultra HD Blu-ray debut, along with Deathly Hallows - Part 1, The Half-Blood Prince, and Order of the Phoenix. Reception Box office Box Office Records set by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 upon its release Record item Record detail Opening weekend (US/Canada) $169,189,427 Summer opening weekend (US/Canada) $169,189,427 Opening weekend for a 3-D film (US/Canada) $169,189,427 Opening weekend – IMAX (US/Canada) $15,200,000 Opening weekend – IMAX (worldwide) $23,200,000 Fastest to $1 billion (worldwide) 19 days Biggest IMAX midnight release (US/Canada) $2,000,000 Opening weekend (worldwide) $483,189,427 Opening weekend outside the United States and Canada $314,000,000 Opening day & Single day (US/Canada) $91,071,119 Biggest midnight release (US/Canada) $43,500,000 Highest gross in advance ticket sales (US/Canada) $32,000,000 Widest 3-D launch (US/Canada) 3,100+ locations Highest-grossing film of 2011 $1,328,111,219 July Opening (US/Canada) $169,189,427 Highest-grossing fantasy live action film $381,011,219 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 grossed $381,011,219 in the United States and Canada, along with $960,500,000 in other markets, for a worldwide total of $1,341,511,219. In worldwide earnings, it is currently the eleventh-highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2011 film, the highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter franchise and the highest-grossing book adaptation.It also became the highest-grossing film for the Warner Brothers studio Part 2 set a worldwide opening-weekend record with $483.2 million. It set a worldwide IMAX opening-weekend record with $23.2 million. In worldwide earnings, it is the fastest film to reach $400 million (5 days), $500 million (6 days), $600 million (8 days), $700 million (10 days), $800 million (12 days), $900 million (15 days), and $1 billion (19 days, tied with Avatar and Marvel's The Avengers). On 31 July 2011 (its 19th day of release), it became the ninth film in cinematic history and the second in 2011 to surpass the $1-billion mark. United States and Canada In the US and Canada, it is the 27th-highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2011 film, the highest-grossing Harry Potter film, the highest-grossing children's book adaptation, the highest-grossing fantasy/live action film and the 13th-highest-grossing 3-D film. Box Office Mojo estimates that the film sold more than 40 million tickets. It set new records in advance ticket sales with $32 million, in its midnight opening with $43.5 million and in its IMAX midnight opening with $2 million. It grossed $91.1 million on its opening Friday, setting a Friday-gross record as well as single- and opening-day records. It also set an opening-weekend record with $169.2 million, an IMAX opening-weekend record of $15.2 million and opening-weekend record for a 3-D film. Although 3-D enhanced the film's earning potential, only 43% of the opening gross came from 3-D venues. This means only $72.8 million of the opening-weekend grosses originated from 3-D showings, the second-largest number at the time. It also scored the largest three-day and four-day gross, the sixth-highest-grossing opening week (Friday to Thursday) with $226.2 million, and even the seventh-largest seven-day gross. It fell precipitously by 84% on its second Friday and by 72% during its second weekend overall, grossing $47.4 million, which is the largest second-weekend drop for any film that opened to more than $90 million. Still, it managed to become the fastest-grossing film in the franchise and also achieved the second-largest ten-day gross ever at the time (now eighth). In its third weekend, the movie surpassed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to become the highest-grossing film of the franchise in the US & Canada. Other markets Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 is the third-highest-grossing film, the highest-grossing 2011 film, the highest-grossing Warner Bros. film and the highest-grossing Harry Potter film. On its opening day, Deathly Hallows – Part 2 grossed $43.6 million from 26 countries, placing it 86% ahead of Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and 49% higher than Half-Blood Prince. From Wednesday until Sunday, on its 5-day opening weekend, it set an opening-weekend record outside the US and Canada by earning $314 million. The average 3D share of Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was 60%, which was lower than the 3D share for Transformers: Dark of the Moon (70%) and On Stranger Tides (66%). On its second weekend, it held to the top spot, but fell precipitously by 62% to $120.2 million despite minor competition. This amount is about the same as what On Stranger Tides made from its second weekend ($124.3 million). Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was in first place at the box office outside North America for four consecutive weekends. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta it brought in a record $14.8 million on its first day. On its opening weekend it earned £23,753,171 in the United Kingdom, marking the second largest opening weekend in 2011. Its performance did not surpass that of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in 2004, which earned £23,882,688 on its opening weekend. In United States dollars, its opening weekend was an all-time record $38.3 million, ahead of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix ($33.5 million). The film also achieved the largest single-day gross on its first Saturday and the largest opening week with $57.6 million. The film made a total of £73.1 million ($117.2 million) at the United Kingdom box office, marking the fifth-highest-grossing film. It also is the highest-grossing film of 2011 and highest-grossing Harry Potter film. Deathly Hallows – Part 2 also set opening-day records in Mexico ($6.1 million), Australia ($7.5 million), France and the Maghreb region ($7.1 million), Italy ($4.6 million), Sweden ($2.1 million), Norway ($1.8 million), Denmark ($1.6 million), the Netherlands ($1.7 million), Belgium ($1.4 million), the Czech Republic ($2.0 million), Argentina ($961,000), Finland ($749,000) and Hong Kong ($808,000). It also established new Harry Potter opening-day records in Japan ($5.7 million), Brazil ($4.4 million), Russia and the CIS ($4.2 million), Spain ($3.3 million) and Poland ($1.25 million). Deathly Hallows – Part 2 set opening weekend records in India with ₹15 crores ($3.41 million), Australia with $19.6 million, New Zealand with $2.46 million, Brazil with $11. million, Scandinavia with $18.5 million, Mexico with $15.9 million and many other Latin American and European countries. Critical response On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 96% based on 322 reviews, with an average rating of 8.32/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Thrilling, powerfully acted, and visually dazzling, Deathly Hallows Part II brings the Harry Potter franchise to a satisfying – and suitably magical – conclusion." On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating to reviews, the film achieved an average of 87 out of 100, based on 41 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". The film received a score of 93 from professional critics at the Broadcast Film Critics Association; it is the organisation's highest-rated Harry Potter film. On CinemaScore, audiences gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. Philip Womack in The Daily Telegraph commented, "This is monumental cinema, awash with gorgeous tones, and carrying an ultimate message that will resonate with every viewer, young or old: there is darkness in all of us, but we can overcome it." He further expressed that David Yates "transmutes [the book] into a genuinely terrifying spectacle." Another review was released on the same day from Evening Standard, who rated the film 4 out of 5 and stated "Millions of children, parents, and those who should know better won't need reminding what a Horcrux is – and director David Yates does not let them down. In fact, in some ways, he helps make up for the shortcomings of the final book." The Daily Express remarked that the film showcases "a terrifying showdown that easily equals Lord of the Rings or Star Wars in terms of a dramatic and memorable battle between good and evil." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three and a half out of four and said, "The finale conjures up enough awe and solemnity to serve as an appropriate finale and a dramatic contrast to the lighthearted (relative) innocence of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone all those magical years ago." Mark Kermode from the BBC said that the film is a "pretty solid and ambitious adaptation of a very complex book", but he criticised the post-converted 3D. Christy Lemire of the Associated Press gave the film three and a half out of four and said "While Deathly Hallows: Part 2 offers long-promised answers, it also dares to pose some eternal questions, and it'll stay with you after the final chapter has closed." Richard Roeper, also from the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film an A+ rating and said that "this is a masterful and worthy final chapter in one of the best franchises ever put to film." In one of the few negative reviews, Brian Gibson of Vue Weekly described the film as "deadly dull" and a "visual overstatement". Other reviews criticised the decision to split the novel into two cinematic parts, with Ben Mortimer of The Daily Telegraph writing "Deathly Hallows – Part 2 isn't a film. It's HALF a film ... it's going to feel somewhat emotionless." Other critics wrote of the film's runtime; Alonso Duralde from The Wrap said, "If there's one substantial flaw to the film, it's that this cavalcade of people and places and objects can barely fit in the 130-minute running time." Rebecca Gillie from The Oxford Student gave the film two out of five and wrote, "at the end of [the film] there is nothing that stays with you once you've left the cinema." Accolades The film won a number of accolades and nominations. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects at the 84th Academy Awards. At the 65th BAFTA awards, the film won the Best Visual Effects award, and was nominated in the Best Sound, Best Production Design and Best Make-up and Hair categories. The film was nominated for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media at the 54th Annual Grammy Awards in 2012. It won a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Stunt Ensemble in a Motion Picture. The film scored 10 nominations at the annual Saturn Awards, Winning for Best Fantasy Film. In the 2011 Scream Awards, the film received a total of 14 nominations, and won in the Best Scream-Play, Best Fantasy Actor (Daniel Radcliffe), Best Villain (Ralph Fiennes), Best F/X, and Holy Sh*t scene of the Year categories.

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Approximate Size of Card: 2.5 inches by 3.5 inches

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Country/Region of Manufacture: United States

Year Manufactured: 2006

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Subject Type: TV & Movies

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Genre: Magic, Boarding School, Harry Potter, Classic Fiction, J K Rowling, Cult Movie Series, Cult British Film Franchise, Action, Adventure, Fantasy

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Franchise: Harry Potter