by Haley Williamson
In the past 10 years, the Harry Potter movies have become the highest grossing series, bringing in over $7 billion. The first Harry Potter movie was released in 2001. Then, ten years later, fans watched the last Harry Potter battle, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two”, in 2011.
Fans laughed, cried and rejoiced with the characters as Harry, Ron and Hermione grew up before their eyes.
Yet, in the midst of those 10 years, Harry Potter has not won a single Oscar. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not a die-hard Harry Potter fan and don’t believe they should win an Oscar for Best Picture, or even get nominated for that category, but they did deserve an Oscar.
They have been nominated for many Oscars, including Best Art Direction (2002, 2006 and 2012), Best Costume Design (2002), Best Original Score (2002 and 2005), Best Visual Effects (2005, 2011 and 2012), Best Cinematography (2010) and Best Makeup (2012).
Yet, with those various nominations, none of the Harry Potter movies were able to walk away with an Oscar.
With the final movie having been nominated for an Oscar, 2012 was the last chance for Harry Potter to snag a little gold man.
However, each year that the movies were nominated for a category, they were up against some tough competition. For visual effects alone they competed with “Inception”, “Spider-Man Two” and “Hugo.”
Even without an Oscar, the Harry Potter series has had many accomplishments to be proud of.
It is the highest grossing movie series, with the second highest being the James Bond series, which made triple the amount of movies Harry Potter made. Behind 007 are the Star Wars movies.
The Harry Potter movies have had actors and actresses who have won or been nominated for Oscars and play key roles such as Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, Kenneth Branagh as Gilderoy Lockhart and Julie Christie as Madam Rosmerta.
Many more actors, who have won or been nominated for more than one Oscar, have also guest starred in Harry Potter films. The Harry Potter cast was truly the best of the best.
The British Academy Film Awards and the National Movie Awards recognized the movie series with various nominations and wins including the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.
In the box office, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part Two” ranked as the No. 1 grossing movie of all time, for opening weekend and opening day.
“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” ranked as No. 11 worldwide, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One” is No. 14 and “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” came in at No. 16.
It is not just the movies that have been successful;the books have made their mark in history as well. According to Forbes.com Rowling has earned billions of dollars with the sale of her books. The books have also made best books lists in The New York Times and Publishers Weekly.
There is a lot of hype leading up to the Oscars about which films are nominated and which ones should win, and afterward photos flood the Internet and newspapers with who won what. Although I think that with their success Harry Potter deserved an Oscar, they have made their mark in history.
They have accomplished more than most movies could dream of, and they did it without ever receiving an Oscar. An Oscar would have been another achievement, and definitely well-deserved, but by no means would winning an Oscar be a firm representation of the brilliant work of the movies.
Even though there will be no Oscar in the future, fans can look forward to countless nights reading the books, watching the movies and planning trips to the Harry Potter theme park.
Williamson is a freshman majoring in journalism and mass communication. Comments can be sent to hwilliamson15@my.whitworth.edu.