Did the ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Win Any Oscars?
“Accio, Oscar!”
Similar to Star Wars and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Harry Potter movies rank high among the most beloved and successful movie franchises of all time. But did any of the films ever earn an Academy Award?
‘Harry Potter’ franchise earned $2 billion
The Harry Potter movies inspired by J.K. Rowling’s book series transported audiences to the wizarding world. When the first installment in the franchise hit theaters in 2001, fans loved seeing some of their favorite literary characters come to life on the big screen.
Over the course of eight films that spanned a decade, people followed Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) and his best friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), on their journey at Hogwarts. When they weren’t getting up to trouble at the castle the trio were battling the evil Lord Voldemort.
By the time the last film debuted in 2011, the Harry Potter movies had raked in a whopping $2.39 billion at box offices worldwide. Not to mention the films had made everything in the wizarding world a cultural phenomenon. Today, there are Harry Potter theme parks and the popularity continues to increase as new generations discover the books and movies.
Movies received 12 Oscar nominations
With each Harry Potter movie, the buzz around the franchise grew and grew. By the time the final movie hit theaters in 2011, Harry Potter had been nominated 12 times for an Oscar according to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The complete list of Academy Award nominations is as follows:
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
- Art Direction and Set Decoration
- Music – Original Score
- Costume Design
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- Music – Original Score
- Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- Art Direction
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- Cinematography
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I
- Production Design
- Visual Effects
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II
- Production Design
- Visual Effects
- Makeup and Hairstyling
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets are the only two films in the franchise that didn’t receive an Oscar nod. Out of all of the aforementioned nominations, not one time did Harry Potter take home the famed golden statue.
Why ‘Harry Potter’ movies may have never won
Harry Potter isn’t the first to be overlooked by the Academy for an Oscar and it won’t be the last. The Academy is known for shying away from mainstream films. Remember the uproar that ensued following Jennifer Lopez’s Oscar snub for Hustlers?
According to Yahoo! Entertainment, there were likely a few factors that contributed to the Harry Potter movies walking away from the Oscars empty-handed. First, they’re considered movies for kids.
Second, they’re blockbusters. Third, the directors weren’t famous enough. Fourth, there’d been poor CGI in the early films. And finally, the Academy didn’t deem the acting performances worthy of an Oscar nod.
After years of getting disappointed at the Oscars, the Harry Potter movies found redemption. In 2017, according to Wired, Colleen Atwood took home an Oscar for her costume design work on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The Harry Potter spinoff starring Jude Law and Eddie Redmayne premiered in 2016.
