Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a 2004 fantasy film directed by Alfonso Cuarón and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, based on J. K. Rowling's 1999 novel of the same name. Produced by Chris Columbus, David Heyman, and Mark Radcliffe and written by Steve Kloves, it is the sequel to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and the third instalment in the Harry Potter film series. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe as Harry Potter, with Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson as Hermione Granger. Its 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.
With Prisoner of Azkaban, production of the Harry Potter films switched to an eighteen-month cycle. Cuarón was selected as director from a shortlist that included Callie Khouri and Kenneth Branagh. David Thewlis joined the cast in January 2003, with Michael Gambon and Gary Oldman confirmed the following month. Principal photography began in February 2003, at Leavesden Film Studios. It was the first in the series to extensively use real-life locations, with sets built in Scotland and scenes shot in London. Filming concluded in November 2003.
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 using IMAX Technology and released into IMAX theatres. Prisoner of Azkaban grossed a total of $796.7 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. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, Best Original Music Score and Best Visual Effects at the 77th Academy Awards in 2004. It marked a notable change in the film series's tone and directing, and is considered by many critics and fans to be one of the best Harry Potter films. It was followed by Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in 2005.
Plot
has been spending another dissatisfying summer with the Dursleys. When Aunt Marge Dursley insults his parents, he loses his temper and accidentally causes her to inflate like a balloon and float away. Fed up, Harry then flees the Dursleys with his luggage. The Knight Bus arrives and takes 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 him.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 to 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.
Severus Snape arrives to apprehend Black but Harry knocks him unconscious with the Expelliarmus charm. After forcing Pettigrew 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 returns the Marauder's Map to Harry, as he no longer has the authority to confiscate contraband. 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 and a younger member of the Weasley wizarding family.
- Emma Watson as Hermione Granger: Harry's other best friend and the trio's brains.
- Robbie Coltrane as Rubeus Hagrid: The gamekeeper and new Care of Magical Creatures teacher at Hogwarts.
- Michael Gambon as Albus Dumbledore:
- Richard Griffiths as Vernon Dursley: Harry's Muggle uncle.
- Gary Oldman as Sirius Black:
- 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.
- 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:
- Emma Thompson as Sybill Trelawney: The Divination teacher at Hogwarts.
- Julie Walters as Molly Weasley: Ron's mother.
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 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 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 had envisioned a more Dickensian version of the stories, and was put off by the first two films which he found too "bright and happy and full of light". 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 shortlist for Columbus's replacement, which comprised Callie Khouri, Kenneth Branagh and eventual selection Alfonso Cuarón in July 2002. Cuarón was initially reluctant to direct, as he had not read any of the books or seen the films. Guillermo Del Toro berated him for his arrogance and told him to read the books. 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, 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. Cuarón recalls, "Emma's essay was 10 pages long. Daniel's was exactly two. 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."
Casting
In January 2003, David Thewlis was announced for the part of Remus Lupin, and The Hollywood Reporter stated that Gary Oldman had entered talks to play Sirius Black. In February 2003, Oldman was confirmed as Black, along with Michael Gambon and Timothy Spall, who joined the cast as Albus Dumbledore and Peter Pettigrew, respectively. In October 2003, Emma Thompson was set to play Sybil Trelawney.Costume and set design
Cuarón wanted to establish a more mature tone in the characters' costumes and the sets. He explained, "What I really wanted to do was to make Hogwarts more contemporary and a little more naturalistic." He studied English schools and noted, "Each teenager's individuality was reflected in the way they wore their uniform. So I asked all the kids in the film to wear their uniforms as they would if their parents weren't around." Columbus considered the costumes changes as "a reflection of the character development within the books themselves" and their transition to teenagers. Whereas in the first two films the characters are constantly in their uniforms, in Prisoner of Azkaban the characters often wear modern street clothes. Rowling, who had to be consulted on this change, stated, "for me the cloaks and everything makes sense for the academic time but in personal time they would be wearing their own clothes."For Lupin, Temime opted for "tweeds typical of England." Cuarón stated that the character should look like "an uncle who parties hard on the weekends", so Temime preserved his gown "unkempt and more shabby than the other teachers’ robes." For Trelawney, Thompson made sketches of the costumes and sent them to Temime and Cuarón. Thompson saw the character as "a person who hasn't looked in the mirror for a long time". In order to highlight the character's short-sightedness, Temime used material filled with mirrors and eyes, as well as oversized glasses with magnifying lenses. Cuarón wanted Dumbledore to look like "an old hippie, but still very chic and with a lot of class". Temime used tie-dyed silk that would float behind him while walking, which she considered "a much lighter look" that gave the character more energy, in contrast with the "heavy and majestic" costumes designed for Harris' portrayal of Dumbledore.
Cuarón's main concern was for Hogwarts to have a larger scope and be grounded in the real world. The scale model of the Hogwarts exterior designed for the first film was expanded by around 40% for Prisoner of Azkaban. Production designer Stuart Craig and art director Gary Tomkins added constructions including a clock tower and a courtyard, and the hospital wing was redesigned and rebuilt. Other sets constructed for the film included the Hogsmeade village and The Three Broomsticks public house.
The use of real-life locations significantly changed the look of Hagrid's hut. For Prisoner of Azkaban, the landscape around the set changed from being completely flat to the side of a hill. The hut doubled in size, with a separate bedroom built on the back and the addition of a large pumpkin patch and a chimney. Craig cited the Shrieking Shack as a particularly challenging set to create. It was built on a large hydraulic platform with the help of the special effects department, "creaking and moving as if being continually buffeted by the wind" in order to appear almost alive.
Some sets were either reused from earlier films or used for more than one space. The Defence Against the Dark Arts and Divination classrooms were filmed in the same set. The Honeydukes set was a redress of the set of Flourish & Blotts that was seen in Chamber of Secrets, which, in turn, had been redressed from the Ollivanders set from the first film.
Filming
Principal photography began on 24 February 2003, at Leavesden Film Studios, and wrapped in late November 2003.The third film was the first to extensively use real-life locations, as much of the first two films had been shot in the studio. Three 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 Black 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 Knight 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.
Director of photography Michael Seresin considered the story much darker compared to its two predecessors, so he employed "moody , with more shadows". He used a variety of wide-angle lenses to amplify Hogwarts prominence in the story, and only used close-ups sparingly. "We prefer to observe the kids from further away, as I find body language to be very interesting", Cuarón explained.
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.
The Knight Bus sequence was shot over several weeks at various locations in London. In order to give the impression of the vehicle moving at, stunt coordinator Greg Powell explained, "We drove the bus at about and the other cars were going only about. It took weeks of planning with stunt drivers, and even the people you see on the street are stunt men and women, who were trained to walk incredibly slow just to make the bus look faster."
Special and visual effects
and Framestore handled the key visual effects shots for the film, while The Moving Picture Company, Cinesite, and Double Negative crafted additional VFX material.Cuarón originally wanted to move away from CGI toward puppetry. He hired master puppeteer Basil Twist and experimented with underwater puppets to figure out the movements of dementors. The tests were shot in slow motion, but ultimately the method wasn't practical. The water test footage provided creative direction for the visual effects team, adding the intangible metaphysical quality Cuarón was seeking. Visual effects supervisors Tim Burke and Roger Guyett, the Industrial Light & Magic VFX team, and Temime collaborated in the creation of dementors.
Cuarón commented on the difficulty of creating Buckbeak, which took months of research and preparation, beginning with the creature's skeletal design. Cuarón said, "Once we worked out the physiology, the way his bones would actually move, we had to capture his personality, which is a mixture of regal elegance, particularly when he is flying, and the clumsy and greedy creature he becomes back on land." Creature effects supervisor Nick Dudman created several practical hippogriffs for the production, while Burke and Guyett oversaw the creation of the computer-generated version. Guyett cited the complex movement of the feathers as an achievement that had "never been done before."
The inflation of Aunt Marge was achieved practically. Ferris said, "I wore various prosthetic bodies, which inflated at different rates, and at my largest I was about four and a half feet wide." The costume prevented Ferris from walking and eating. Thirty-eight tweed suits of increasing size were used for the sequence.
Cinesite was in charge of the time travel shot featured in the film, which was over a minute long. The main action was filmed on a steadicam against bluescreen, and four minutes of background footage was shot separately. The background was then sped up and composited behind the main action. Two other plates of background footage were tiled together as the camera turned.
Music
Prisoner of Azkaban was the third and final film to be scored by John Williams. The soundtrack was a significant departure from the previous two, as Cuarón wanted the score to take a different approach. One of the new themes, "Double Trouble", was written during production for a children's choir to perform in Hogwarts's Great Hall in one of the film's earlier scenes. The lyrics of the song were taken from William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The soundtrack album was released by Atlantic Records on 25 May 2004.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 connection between Harry's parents and the Marauder's Map is only briefly mentioned, as is Remus Lupin's association to the map. 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 how he escaped from Azkaban.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.
The 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. However, any mention of Harry's crush on Cho Chang is removed, and she first appears in the fourth film. Prisoner of Azkaban shows a darker tone and more of Harry's emotions. For instance, after learning of Black's "betrayal" of Harry's parents, he shouts in anger, whereas in the book he's "too stunned to move".
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 on 25 May 2004. 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 that included the Knight Bus, Shrieking Shack and a new Hogwarts castle.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.Home media
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released on DVD on 19 November 2004, and on VHS on 23 November. The 2-disc Special Editions later came out on DVD and Blu-ray on 4 October 2016. The film was also released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 7 November 2017.Reception
Box office
Upon release, the film broke the record for a biggest single day in the United Kingdom's box office history making £5.3million 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 £45.6million in the UK. The film made $93.7million during its opening weekend in the United States and Canada at 3,855theatres, achieving, at the time, the third-biggest-opening weekend of all time. This opening also broke Hulk record for the highest-opening weekend for a film released in June. Prisoner of Azkaban held this record for five years until topped it in 2009 with $108.9million. The film was also No. 1 at the North American box office for two consecutive weekends.Prisoner of Azkaban made a total of $796.7million 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 $249.5million. However, it was the year's number one film internationally, making $546million compared to Shrek 2 $487.5million. Despite its successful box office run, Azkaban is the lowest-grossing Harry Potter film, and the second lowest-grossing film of the Wizarding World series.
Critical response
Prisoner of Azkaban is often regarded by critics and fans as one of the best films in the franchise. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 258 reviews, with an average rating of 7.85/10. 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". Audiences polled by CinemaScore 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 instalments. 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 considered it "one of the greatest fantasy films of all time." Nicole Arthur of The Washington Post praised the film as "complex, frightening, 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 received two Academy Award nominations: Best Visual Effects and Best Original Score for John Williams. The film was also nominated for four BAFTA Awards: Best British Film, Best Production Design, Best Makeup & Hair, and Best Visual Effects. It received nine Saturn Awards nominations. It won two Visual Effects Society Awards and was nominated for three others. The Broadcast Film Critics Association nominated it for Best Family Film, Best Young Actor, and Best Young Actress.The film ranks at 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. The American Film Institute nominated it for the 2007 revision of AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, and for AFI's 10 Top 10 in the fantasy genre.
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | |
| Academy Awards | 27 February 2005 | Best Original Music Score | John Williams | ||
| Academy Awards | 27 February 2005 | Best Visual Effects | Tim Burke, Roger Guyett, Bill George, John Richardson | ||
| Amanda Awards | 27 August 2004 | Best Foreign Feature Film | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Bogey Awards | Bogey Award in Platinum | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | |||
| British Academy Film Awards | 12 February 2005 | Best British Film | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| British Academy Film Awards | 12 February 2005 | Best Production Design | Stuart Craig | ||
| British Academy Film Awards | 12 February 2005 | Best Makeup & Hair | Amanda Knight, Eithne Fennel, Nick Dudman | ||
| British Academy Film Awards | 12 February 2005 | Best Visual Effects | Tim Burke, Roger Guyett, Bill George, John Richardson | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association | 10 January 2005 | Best Family Film | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association | 10 January 2005 | Best Young Actor | Daniel Radcliffe | ||
| Broadcast Film Critics Association | 10 January 2005 | Best Young Actress | Emma Watson | ||
| Broadcast Music Incorporated Film & TV Awards | 18 May 2005 | BMI Film Music Award | John Williams | ||
| Gold Derby Awards | Visual Effects | Tim Burke, Roger Guyett, Bill George, John Richardson | |||
| Golden Reel Awards | 26 February 2005 | Best Sound Editing – Foreign Film | David Evans, Richard Beggs, Derek Trigg, Andy Kennedy, Jon Olive, Bjorn Ole Schroeder, Sam Southwick, Stefan Henrix, Tony Currie, Nick Lowe, Stuart Morton | ||
| Golden Trailer Awards | 25 May 2004 | Best Animation/Family | Teaser #2 | ||
| Golden Trailer Awards | 25 May 2004 | Summer 2004 Blockbuster | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Golden Trailer Awards | 26 May 2005 | Best Music | "Dark" | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | rowspan="9" | Best Original Song | "Double Trouble" | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Terrifying Theme | "Apparition on the Train" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Dramatic Theme | "A Window to the Past" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Action Theme | "Buckbeak's Flight" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Comedic Theme | "Aunt Marge's Waltz" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Epic Theme | "Buckbeak's Flight" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Theme | "Buckbeak's Flight" | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Soundtrack | John Williams | - | ||
| GoldSpirit Awards | Best Soundtrack | John Williams | - | ||
| Grammy Awards | 13 February 2005 | Best Score Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media | John Williams | ||
| Hollywood Film Awards | 18 October 2004 | Production Designer of the Year | Stuart Craig | ||
| Hugo Awards | 4–8 August 2005 | Best Dramatic Presentation | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Kids' Choice Awards | 2 April 2005 | Favorite Movie | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| People's Choice Awards | 9 January 2005 | Favorite Sequel | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| People's Choice Awards | 9 January 2005 | Favorite Film Villain | Gary Oldman | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Fantasy Film | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Director | Alfonso Cuarón | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Supporting Actor | Gary Oldman | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Performance by a Younger Actor | Daniel Radcliffe | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Writing | Steve Kloves | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Music | John Williams | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Costumes Design | Jany Temime | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Make-Up | Nick Dudman, Amanda Knight | ||
| Saturn Awards | 3 May 2005 | Best Special Effects | Tim Burke, Roger Guyett, Bill George, John Richardson | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | 8 August 2004 | Choice Movie: Action | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | 8 August 2004 | Choice Summer Movie | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | ||
| Visual Effects Society | 16 February 2005 | Outstanding Visual Effects in an Effects Driven Motion Picture | Roger Guyett, Tim Burke, Theresa Corrao, Emma Norton | ||
| Visual Effects Society | 16 February 2005 | Best Single Visual Effect of the Year | Bill George, David Andrews, Sandra Scott, Dorne Huebler | ||
| Visual Effects Society | 16 February 2005 | Outstanding Performance by an Animated Character in a Live Action Motion Picture | Buckbeak – Michael Eames, David Lomax, Felix Balbas, Pablo Grillo | ||
| Visual Effects Society | 16 February 2005 | Outstanding Models and Miniatures in a Motion Picture | Jose Granell, Nigel Stone | ||
| Visual Effects Society | 16 February 2005 | Outstanding Compositing in a Motion Picture | Dorne Huebler, Jay Cooper, Patrick Brennan, Anthony Shafer | ||
| World Soundtrack Awards | 9 October 2004 | Public Choice Award | John Williams | ||
| World Soundtrack Awards | 9 October 2004 | Soundtrack Composer of the Year | John Williams | ||
| World Soundtrack Awards | 9 October 2004 | Best Original Score of the Year | John Williams |