The Harry Potter Cast: A Look Back Then And Now

The Harry Potter Cast: A Look Back Then And Now

It’s been almost 20 years since the first movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World hit the big screen in the form of 2001’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Since then, the fantasy franchise has spun seven sequels, a completely new film series called Fantastic Beasts, and a highly popular land in Universal Studios.

The phenomenon has been around for nearly a generation, and while the main cast of the classic series have had close to a decade to grow apart from with their iconic roles, it’s always magical to look back at what’s changed between their first trip to Hogwarts to today. There’s been a mix of glo ups, sad passings and exciting projects between the Harry Potter film family between then and now. Let’s take a look:

Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter)

Look how far little Harry has come since his humble beginnings living in the Cupboard Under the Stairs! The star wizard of the series scored his famous role when he was just eleven years old and he will always be best remembered as the boy who lived. His first Harry Potter follow-up was the 2012 horror flick The Woman in Black, but he’s also starred in the indie rom-com What If, the box office flop Victor Frankenstein alongside James McAvoy, the critically-acclaimed indie Swiss Army Man and the 'magical' Now You See Me sequel.

Radcliffe also lit up Broadway in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying revival, starred in a two-season television series with Jon Hamm called A Young Doctor’s Notebook & Other Stories, and currently stars in TBS mini-series Miracle Workers as a low-level angel trying to settle a bet with God (Steve Buscemi) and stop the destruction of Earth. The actor has dabbled in just about everything as he nears 30 this year and doesn’t seem to stop pushing the boundaries of his talent each time we see him. Maybe Wolverine next?

Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley)

Remember when an 11-year-old Rupert Grint saved all of Hogwarts as Ron Weasley in Sorcerer’s Stone thanks to some expert chess knowledge? Iconic. While the actor recently admitted that he almost called quits on the role after wrapping Goblet of Fire when fame took hold, he stuck it out and without regrets… but what has life been like since?

Rupert took on a few off-beat roles directly after Deathly Hallows Part 2, such as in the action-comedy Moonwalkers with Ron Perlman and the Shia LaBeouf lead drama Charlie Countryman. He’s recently found his place on television in Sick Note with fellow child star (and redhead) Lindsay Lohan, Crackle’s Snatch remake and as Inspector Crome in BBC’s The ABC Murders. The actor is also set to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming Apple show. The actor has kept with the much darker roles he’s drawn to without swinging deep back into the spotlight.

Emma Watson (Hermoine Granger)

For many, Emma Watson’s Hermoine Granger was the nerdy, overachieving bookworm we could finally relate to, so when the actress took on Belle for Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, it felt a bit like she was living in her glory days. In between, the 28-year-old Brit has also challenged herself as an actress, become an outspoken women’s rights activist and created her own feminist book club.

After saying goodbye to Hermoine, Watson took on some edgy roles for The Perks of Being a Wallflower, This is the End and The Bling Ring along with starring in thrillers such as Regression, Colonia and The Circle. Beauty and the Beast was by far her most successful Harry Potter follow-up, as it made over $1.2 billion worldwide. Watson is also gearing up to star in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women with Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Meryl Streep and Laura Dern. Raising your hand in class pays!

Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy)

Just about every young hero has a bratty bully to face, and Tom Felton’s Draco Malfoy certainly fit that bill throughout the Harry Potter franchise. So what was the first role the actor book after a decade as the deplorable villain? You guessed it… another baddie in 2011’s Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Since then, Tom Felton has earned acting credits in quite a few off-radar films with some big names such as Sebastian Stan, Taraji P. Henson, Oscar Isaac, Elizabeth Olsen and Gemma Chan. His most memorable new role is certainly as Julian Albert in CW’s The Flash in Season 3. The actor has recently floated to a new television show on YouTube TV’s new sci-fi show Origins. The spaceship-set series on the new streaming platform has seen some exciting success, so season 2 could be on the way!

Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley)

Ron’s little sister and Harry Potter’s future wife has transformed from an adorable child actress to an all grown-up lady! While to most the actress hasn’t maintained the star status of her fellow Harry Potter stars, she has maintained active in the filmmaking community as an actress, screenwriter and director.

On screen, Bonnie Wright has starred in mainly made-for-television titles primarily geared for a family-friendly audience such as My Dad Is Scrooge, Who Killed Nelson Nutmeg? and A Christmas Carol. She made her debut writing/directorial project with Harry Potter co-star with David Thewlis (he played Remus Lupin) with a 2012 short film and has since developed a handful of other projects under her own Bon Bon Lumiere production company.

Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom)

Neville Longbottom may start off as a clumsy and laughable kid in Sorcerer’s Stone, but as the franchised progressed, the character became an important part of the team, as he destroyed the final Horcrux by slicing off Nagini’s head clean off. He saved them all! Actor Matthew Lewis became quite the viral sensation as he exited Harry Potter with an unexpected glo up. Yes, those two are the same person…

The 29-year-old actor has since mainly worked in British television shows such as The Syndicate, Bluestone 42 and Girlfriends, along with having a role in 2016 romance Me Before You. Lewis recently got married to Angela Jones, an event planner with Universal who he met at a Wizarding World event in Orlando. We’re not sure what’s next for Lewis other than being perfect and happy. I’d say that’s not a bad real-life ending for Neville!

Ralph Fiennes (Lord Voldemort)

For a character known as "He-who-must-not-be-named," Ralph Fiennes was certainly one of the biggest names in the Harry Potter franchise when he was cast as the main antagonist at the turn of the 21st century. Before taking on Voldemort, Fiennes was a two-time Oscar nominee for Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List and The English Patient.

Between and after Harry Potter, the actor kept on keeping on with high-profile roles in The Hurt Locker, Skyfall, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and he had recent voice roles in Kubo and the Two Strings and as Alfred in The Lego Batman Movie. On paper, the iconic role is just one of his many roles (over 70 acting credits) and he’s nearly unrecognizable as the villain in any other movie. Next, Fiennes will be in The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle, the next Kingsman movie and Bond 25.

Richard Harris/Michael Gambon (Dumbledore)

Did you know two actors played Dumbledore in the Harry Potter films? Richard Harris first played the role in Sorcerer’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets before his 2002 passing, after the actor was hospitalized with pneumonia and diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease. Before playing Dumbledore, Harris had roles in quite a few of classics including 1967’s Camelot, Unforgiven and Gladiator.

Michael Gambon took over the role in 2004 and played Dumbledore until the final installment. He turned down the role of James Bond in 1970, though made a name for himself in his roles in The Singing Detective, as president Lyndon B. Johnson in Path to War and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. After playing Dumbledore, Gambon has been in a ton of projects – most notably as the voice of Uncle Pastuzo in the Paddington movies.

Robbie Coltrane (Hagrid)

The bear-huggable Harry Potter character was another accomplished Brit before Hagrid came to him as a famous comedian, with roles all over the map, such as Valentin Zukovsky, a character opposite Pierce Brosnan’s James Bond, and star of the three-season series Cracker.

After playing Hagrid, Robbie Coltrane took on a couple voice parts for Arthur Christmas and Brave and starred in a couple projects involving his Potter family co-stars: an adaptation of Great Expectations with Ralph Fiennes and Helena Bonham Carter, and the Hulu show National Treasure with Julie Walters, who we’ll get to. The 68-year-old actor is also nearly unrecognizable between his husky bearded look in the fantasy films and usually more clean-cut roles in recent years. Though his unmistaken unfamiliarity will stump the untrained eye.

Alan Rickman (Severus Snape)

When Alan Rickman stepped into his Harry Potter role, he already had an extremely memorable role as Hans Gruber in 1988’s Die Hard – a Christmas classic. He also starred in Sense and Sensibility and Galaxy Quest. Rickman’s portrayal of Severus Snape is a beloved fan favorite and he offered some franchise highlights. During his time on Harry Potter, he played a part in Love Actually as the breaker of Emma Thompson’s heart and all of ours, starred in Sweeney Todd, Bottle Shock and the caterpillar in 2010’s Alice in Wonderland.

However, his time after the Harry Potter movies ended up being his final years. The actor played meaty roles such as Ronald Reagan in Lee Daniels’ The Butler and King Louis XIV in A Little Chaos among others before he died of pancreatic cancer in January 2016 at the age of 69. The actor certainly had an illustrious career, greatly defined by his time as Snape.

Maggie Smith (Minerva McGonagall)

When Dame Maggie Smith started playing Professor Minerva McGonagall in 2001, she was 67 years old and one of the most famous British actresses of her time. However, her Harry Potter role made her a household name among younger and newer audiences who may not have known about her otherwise.

When Maggie Smith hung up her pointed hat, she starred in even more movies (many of which, critically acclaimed), such as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel movies, Quartet, The Old Lady, The Lady in the Van and the highly acclaimed TV series Downton Abbey as Violet Crawley, Dowager Countess of Grantham, whom she will reprise in a planned feature film to follow the television show. Retirement who? Maggie Smith’s star status has only grown since Harry Potter.

Gary Oldman (Sirius Black)

Here’s something crazy about Gary Oldman: while he was playing the father-figure to young Harry, Sirius Black he was also in the thick of playing Gordon in Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. The actor was one of the few who was simultaneously on two monumental franchises of the time and will also be remembered for playing these well-known pop culture characters.

Since, he earned two Best Actor nominations for Tinker Tailor Solider Spy and as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour, which he won the golden trophy for in 2018. He’s also starred in a few action flicks including RoboCop, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Among the masses, he is overwhelmingly known as Sirius Black, even though he has played many other memorable parts.

Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix Lestrange)

Helena Bonham Carter was already defined by her dark roles in fantasy films (primarily from Tim Burton) such as Big Fish, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Corpse Bride. So, when she joined Harry Potter in the second half of the franchise, she fit right in as key player, Bellatrix Lestrange. After Deathly Hallows Part 2, she has continued doing a bit of the same in movies such as Dark Shadows, Les Misérables and worked in Disney films The Lone Ranger, Cinderella and Alice Through the Looking Glass.

The actress recently starred in the female-fronted Ocean’s 8 as fashion designer Rose Weil in 2018 and will be taking over the role of Princess Margaret from Vanessa Kirby in the upcoming season of The Crown as Olivia Colman follows Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth in her middle-aged years.

Julie Walters (Molly Weasley)

What about the Weasley parents? Julie Walters, a.k.a. Molly Weasley is quite the accomplished actress and her fame has only grown since starring as a mother of wizards. She first really turned heads in 1983’s Educating Rita opposite Michael Caine, which earned the both of them Oscar nominations, before earning another nod for her role in Billy Elliot.

While she was doing Harry Potter, Walters starred in Calendar Girls and Mamma Mia! After the franchise was over, she joined Robbie Coltrane with a role as the Witch in Brave and on the Hulu show National Treasure, played Mrs. Bird in the Paddington movies and recently starred in Mary Poppins Returns as Ellen.

Mark Williams (Arthur Weasley)

To finish off this list of the talented main cast of the Harry Potter films, is the other half of the Weasley parents: Arthur Weasley, played by Mark Williams, who was best known for the BBC sketch comedy series The Fast Show for the six years before nabbing a role on the Harry Potter films.

After playing Mr. Weasley in just about every movie, the actor traded out his red hair and guest starred in Doctor Who in 2012 and then scored his own BBC television series Father Brown. The show, currently in its seventh season, is based on books by GK Chesterton about a Catholic priest who solves mysteries in the English countryside.

Oh, how the time turner… turns! Can you believe how the Hogwarts students have grown and adults have grown more distinguished? What do you think of these career shifts since for the actors, have you been following them or did they take you by surprise? Sound off in the comments below!

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The 10 Best Jennifer Lawrence Movies, Ranked

The 10 Best Jennifer Lawrence Movies, Ranked

Ten years ago, Jennifer Lawrence was a supporting actress on the short-lived TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show. Nowadays, however, the mega-famous celebrity is an Academy Award-winning superstar, who has shown her talents in blockbusters and prestige flicks alike. It's a remarkable journey that has found the talented superstar headlining no shortage of commendable, noteworthy films throughout a varied and exceptional cinematic career. It's one that will continue with her latest work in Dark Phoenix, which will be making its way into theaters and IMAX screens this weekend.

While Jennifer Lawrence has only been seen in a handful of movies these past few years, it's remarkable how many of these films have gone to to be acclaimed, distinctive achievements or pop culture phenomenons. Sometimes both! Today, I'm ranking my personal favorite Jennifer Lawrence movies, placing them in order of personal preference. There are a few that missed the cut, like Passengers and Red Sparrow, for instance. And no doubt a few of these picks might be a bit different than yours, depending on how you feel about certain titles. Nevertheless, here's the official ranking!

Joy

In their third collaboration, Joy, David O. Russell and Jennifer Lawrence brought a loose retelling of the life story of Joy Mangano, a self-made woman who went from humble beginnings to a millionaire empire, to the big screen. The results were mixed, notably compared to their other collaborations together. But while the film is flawed, to say the least, it does have the distinction of boosting yet another exceptional Jennifer Lawrence performance.

After playing the second lead in Silver Linings Playbook and a memorable supporting character in American Hustle, Jennifer Lawrence is finally (and rightfully) given the center stage in this David O. Russell joint, and she definitely makes the most of it. Filled with the passion and indignation that was seen throughout her performances, Lawrence finds herself providing another powerhouse display, even if the movie itself fumbles to make the most of this top-tier performance. Not every movie can be a winner, but this intriguing, occasionally commanding film is benefited greatly by Jennifer Lawrence.

The Hunger Games

In the movie that turned Jennifer Lawrence from arthouse darling to movie superstar, The Hunger Games is certain a prominent and prosperous film on Jennifer Lawrence's resume. The actress was given a dystopian franchise that could've easily fizzled out from the public's conscious the way so many franchise non-starters do. But through her weighted, emotionally-resonant performance, Lawrence helped transport the ambitious franchise-starter into a bonafide box office hit.

As Katniss Everdeen, Jennifer Lawrence brought an honest emotional sincerity to the role that came from her experience of working with intense emotional dramas. That resonance helped the series become grounded and honesty in a way that most science-fiction franchises aren't. It's through those commendable talents that Lawrence was able to excel and become one of the biggest movie stars in the film business today.

X-Men: First Class

Shortly before she set the world on fire with The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence got her first taste of blockbuster filmmaking when she took on the role of Mystique in the rebooted X-Men franchise-starter, X-Men: First Class. As the morphing blue mutant, one who's an adoptive sister to Charles Xavier (James McAvoy), there is no doubt that this version of the character was set to play a huge part in the retooled X-Men franchise. Sure enough, it's safe to presume that nobody involved with the film really knew just how big and famous JLaw would get in a short amount of time.

While Jennifer Lawrence's heart never seemed to be fully invested in this series after this introductory installment, Jennifer Lawrence's take on the character provided audiences with a more rich, layered take on the standout X-Men character. Allowing us to the see the emotions and depths that were often only hinted at with Mystique during the first three X-Men films prior, this new take on the character was a gentler, more sympathetic version, and that is often thanks to Jennifer Lawrence's emotional talents as an actress. These talents would shine ever brighter throughout other films in her career.

X-Men: Days Of Future Past

The X-Men series has always been on wobbly ground. For every rise, there is inevitably a fall. For every film that's on the level of X2, there's typically an X-Men: The Last Stand or X-Men Origins: Wolverine that trails behind it, shattering the potential of this superhero series. Nevertheless, after a promising start of a new, retooled franchise with X-Men: First Class, the Marvel comic property was finally brought back to its former exhilarating heights with the exceptional crossover event, X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Through this movie, which blended the high caliber talents of the new cast with the established excellence of Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, to name a few, the result is a series rejuvenator that could've easily been a huge hulking mess, but one that actually turned out to be one of the most surprising and beneficial superhero blockbusters in recent memory. Filled with great action, compelling stakes and a great roaster of talent, it's an exceptional installment in the X-Men universe, and it's quite possibly the last good-to-great film we'll see with these characters in quite awhile.

The only real reason why I'm ranking it a bit lower here is because, ultimately, the film is good, but it's not the best showcase of Jennifer Lawrence's talents. It's apparent throughout the film that her heart isn't really in the series as much anymore, and while that doesn't mean her performance is bad, it doesn't have the same compelling range as some of her other, better work, seen prominently and exceptionally throughout a number of titles listed in this article. In any case, while it's not a great Jennifer Lawrence film, it's still one the best movies to feature the actress, if that ultimately makes sense.

Winter's Bone

For many folks, including myself, Debra Granik's somber, harrowing independent film Winter's Bone was their first introduction to Jennifer Lawrence. The young actress was still in her late teens when she played the lead role of Ree, an impoverished, head-strong young woman living hastily in the Ozark Mountains while also trying to track down her drug-dealing father to prevent her family from being evicted. Though the film is definitely very minor in scope, it had a monumental impact on her early career. Specifically, the small Sundance title went on to receive four Oscar nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Jennifer Lawrence, and it introduced Hollywood to this explosively talented young actress well on the rise.

Based on the book of the same name by Daniel Woodrell, Winter's Bone is an impressively sorrowful and powerful mediation on impoverishment and self sufficient under extreme devastation and economical decline. Yet, in a weird twist of fate, this tale of loss, poverty and misfortune paved the way for an incredible successful and lucrative career for Jennifer Lawrence, one that only continues to flourish with new projects. There's no denying that she is an exceptionally talented actress, and the proof was on the screen nearly 10 years ago when Lawrence came on the scene in Winter's Bone.

Like Crazy

In 2011, Jennifer Lawrence was already a young Oscar-nominated actress set to embark on her biggest, most prominent role to date as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games saga. But in this transition period in her life, she was still an up-and-coming actress who was working in a number of independent titles, hoping to make it up the ropes just like every young actor and actress in Hollywood. In any case, even by the time Like Crazy made its way into theaters, it was a little surreal to see Jennifer Lawrence play a prominent supporting role in this intimate, small-scale romantic drama.

In writer-director Drake Doremus' tender, touching personal story, Jennifer Lawrence plays Samatha, a woman with whom our main male character, Jacob (the late Anton Yelchin), begins seeing shortly after his relationship to after his long-distance relationship with Anna (Felicity Jones), falls apart. In the broad scheme of the story, Samantha is ultimately a minor part —even though she's the third biggest character in the movie. It represents that brief window of time when Jennifer Lawrence was well-established and well-accredited, but just before the celebrity rose to international superstardom.

But in the limited role, Jennifer Lawrence's Sam gives Anton Yelchin's lovesick Jacob a small, yet loving, window into a more stable, dependable romantic relationship close to home, one that doesn't come with the aches, heartbreaks and baggage of a long-distance relationship. Ultimately, due to Jacob's heart bleeding elsewhere, the relationship doesn't last, and Lawrence conveys that sweetness and eventual sadness beautifully in this rare supporting turn.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire

While The Hunger Games provided the backdrop to a compelling and prosperous YA film franchise, it wasn't until its stellar sequel, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, that the series really lived up to this film's subtitle. Propelled by the commendable work of director Francis Lawrence, who took over the reins from Gary Ross, and boosted by a story with higher stakes, better action, stronger tension and greater dramatic potential, Catching Fire remains the strongest and more resilient installment of the series. It was the film where you could also see Jennifer Lawrence's acting talents take full flight.

With a higher budget, more wiggle room to evolve and elevated material that proved more world-expanding, greater challenges and more character development, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire does what every good sequel should: match or exceed what we've seen before and allow the series and the characters and the environments therein to bloom, mature and flourish in greater and more beneficial and compelling ways. In many ways, this sequel equals or exceeds the benefits of the first movie, and it's a shape that the following installments, Mockingjay - Part 1 and 2, couldn't match it.

American Hustle

Hot off the heels of Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell rounded up the talents of his proven stars, including Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper, and provided audiences with another sizzling, sensational dramedy, American Hustle. The period piece is a splashier, more ritzy and stylishly-mimicking film, copying more than a few notes from Martin Scorsese's filmography. Yet, through the passionate and invigoration of its exceptional cast, the film is given a great amount of spry energy and enthusiasm. That's most certainly the case for Jennifer Lawrence's character, Rosalyn Rosenfeld.

In her Oscar-nominated performance, Jennifer Lawrence plays the role with a bold ferocity that nearly outmatches her work with David O. Russell's prior in Silver Lining Playbook, and it's certainly not for a lack of trying. While American Hustle doesn't live up to the same delirious heights as that previous film from the acclaimed filmmaker, it's still a stunning display of Lawrence's passionate talents. And it's another captivating performance from a performer who was near the top of the world at that point.

mother!

Though certainly divisive among both critics and general audiences, to say the least, Darren Aronofsky's visceral, allegorical horror-drama mother! is a spellbinding film. Filled with fraught tension, rigorous intensity and commendable craftsmanship, it is definitely not a conventional crowdpleaser, or any sort of crowdpleaser at all, and it doesn't work in everyone's favor. But for me, it remains not only one of Jennifer Lawrence's best films, but also one of the actress' greatest dramatic showcases to date.

Though the movie — at face value — is meant to be seen as a biblical retelling of humanity's disturbing relationship with mother nature, mother! is best seen as a high-stakes surrealist story that portrays the ego-driven, emotionally-disastrous home life of an artist who wants to be both world-renowned and romantically reserved, and how the folks who care most for the artist are the ones who often suffer the most. It's a brutal, unbecoming movie, and it is perhaps more for the arthouse crowd than the folks who like Jennifer Lawrence's blockbuster work. But if you have the stomach for what it dishes out, it's a gorgeously unsettling work of impassioned introspection — both intentional and otherwise.

But if you have the stomach for what it dishes out in excessive helpings, mother! is a gorgeously unsettling work of impassioned introspection — both intentional and otherwise. And Jennifer Lawerence's committed powerhouse performance often harkens back to Mia Farrow's iconic role in Rosemary's Baby. Strange, mysterious and often alluring, if you feel at home with something that's more messianic and unusual than your average theater visit, this is one that worth's seeking out.

Silver Linings Playbook

With writer-director David O. Russell's winning, wonderful Silver Linings Playbook, Jennifer Lawrence fully cemented herself as a great actress. While she had already proven her chops with Winter's Bone and The Hunger Games, it was in the role of Tiffany, the vivacious, yet deeply troubled, woman who serves as the mismatched match to Bradley Cooper's equally perturbed Pat, that ultimately won the actress her Academy Award. And it remains the role that best captures and displays all of Lawrence's multitudes of talents, capabilities and emotional prowess in one firecracker of a performance.

As she displays with a ferocity and tenacity of a young performer with a mountain of talent to prove, Jennifer Lawrence's award-winning performance is an exuberant, emotional, thunderous, rousing and brilliantly realized work of excellence. It's the type of heart-wrenching acting that commands the energy of a young performer while also containing the depths of an actress with an extraordinary future. Sure enough, that most certainly became true.

Jennifer Lawrence has become one of the most well-known and well-acclaimed young actresses in Hollywood, and it's thanks to a wealth talent as well as a great fortune of luck that she rose up into international super-fame. Watching her performance in Silver Linings Playbook, it's incredibly easy to see how that became possible. She is an astonishing actress with a wide range of dramatic heft and nuance, and while Silver Linings Playbook is one of her earliest performances in her blooming career, it does remain her most well-recognized and perhaps her most beloved performance as well. And that's more than a silver lining; that's a golden opportunity, and she took it and ran with it.

While there are some notable films on Jennifer Lawrence's resume that we didn't list, this collection of titles both big and small all help to display the exceptional talent of this incredible actress. And though it sounds like Jennifer Lawrence might be taking a bit of a recess from acting while she explores different things in her personal life, the actress has proven herself dedicated, assured, confident and commendable in many different ways. We hope to see even more rousing, brave and celebratory performances from this bright and acclaimed young actress in the not-too-distant future.

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Is Poms' Box Office Failure Tied To Yikes Reviews?

Is Poms' Box Office Failure Tied To Yikes Reviews?

If the box office is perfectly balanced, as all things should be, that means that while Avengers: Endgame is breaking records, something else has to be failing spectacularly, and that something is the comedy Poms. The story of a group of women who start a cheerleading squad at their retirement community is the worst box office flop of the year so far for a film with a wide release on over 2,700 screens.

Poms debuted in 6th place, earning just $5.3 million against a $10 million budget over Mother’s Day weekend. Whenever a movie fails like this, it is worth doing a post-mortem and asking what happened. One of the first things worth wondering about are the yikes reviews Poms received, which certainly didn’t do it any favors. CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg highlighted the film’s lack of originality in his review, saying:

There is hardly a single underdog sports movie cliché that isn’t employed at some point, and it’s difficult to feel entirely engaged with the story when you know exactly how every single scene is going to begin and end.

Yikes indeed. Audiences need to be sold to spend their hard-earned money to come to the theater, and when the reviews warn of a cliché-ridden film that people have the impression they’ve seen before 1000 times, there is no incentive to go see it.

But maybe you’re okay with a clichéd and simple story, and you just want to laugh and have a good time. Sadly, Poms comes up short in that regard, according to the Associated Press’s Lindsey Bahr, who in her review said:

It’s fine to make a film that’s just supposed to make an audience smile but this film doesn’t even get close to that level of joy.

You can definitely see how potential audiences who read that review might have been reticent to spend money to see a movie where even the hope of cracking a smile is in doubt. And if a comedy can’t make you laugh, that’s a problem and that is definitely the case here according to IndieWire’s Jude Dry, who gave the film a “D” and said:

Poms is the first narrative feature from documentarian Zara Hayes, who wrote the script with Shane Atkinson, making his feature debut. Neither have much background in comedy, and it shows.

One of the theoretical selling points of Poms is its cast of legendary actresses, including Diane Keaton, Jacki Weaver, Celia Weston, Rhea Perlman and Pam Grier. However, a common thread among the reviews for the film was lament that the actresses aren’t given quality roles in a well-written film to work with. In her review, The Hollywood Reporter’s Beandrea July said:

Poms is equal parts boring and infuriating, especially when you consider the actresses made to perform caricatures of old age.

By many accounts, Poms doesn’t treat its elderly characters with much respect, which is made even more galling considering the pure talent involved. That lends a sad quality to the film that may have turned off audiences. The Guardian’s Benjamin Lee, gave Poms 1 star out of 5, and if you read his review, you probably wouldn’t spend your money to see the movie either. He said:

It’s easy to praise the mere existence of Poms as a rare wide-releasing comedy populated by women over the age of 70 but rather than feeling inspired, I left the cinema feeling depressed… The women in Poms deserve better and so do we.

‘I left feeling depressed’ is not the blurb you want for an ostensibly feel-good Mother’s Day movie. And while it might be great that this movie got made and received a wide release, general audiences aren’t in the business of voting with their dollar at the box office to advance the cause of older actresses in the industry.

Poms currently has a 32% on Rotten Tomatoes, meaning that the reviews weren’t all bad, and opening night audiences gave the film a “B+” CinemaScore, indicating those who saw it generally liked it. So is Poms' box office failure tied to the bad reviews?

It’s tough to say, but the reviews certainly couldn’t have helped. It’s difficult to know how much reviews truly influence audience’s moviegoing decisions. Plenty of horribly reviewed blockbusters make bank at the box office and countless critically acclaimed smaller films struggle to scrape together a few pennies.

I tend to think that reviews only influence audiences to an extent and that most people make up their minds before they see the reviews. It’s only when the consensus is drastically in one direction or the other that their choice can change. I also don’t know what the level or quality of the marketing across the country was for Poms.

If Poms was beloved and the reviews helped spur great word of mouth, maybe it wouldn’t have flopped in this way, but it was probably never going to really deliver. These kinds of smaller movies, rightly or wrongly, are a dying breed as blockbusters dominate the theatrical calendar. Counter-programming can be successful, and perhaps that, as well as coinciding with the Mother’s Day holiday was the strategy, but everything, including reviews, has to click, and that wasn’t the case here.

I can’t help but feel like in the current marketplace, Poms was far better suited to be released on a streaming service like Netflix. Perhaps when it arrives on a streaming service down the line, it will get a second life.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to see everything headed to theater this summer and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all the latest box office news.

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One Thing Captain Marvel Is Seriously Missing

One Thing Captain Marvel Is Seriously Missing

This past weekend saw the release of Captain Marvel, and based on the weekend’s box office, a lot of people wanted to see this movie. Professional reviews were complimentary, if not glowing, and overall I really enjoyed it. However, as I walked out of the theater last week, I must admit I felt like there was one thing missing from Captain Marvel. The music. Don’t get me wrong, Captain Marvel had music. It had good music, but the music that you remember coming out of the theater is the 1990s pop soundtrack, not the score that was composed for the film. Captain Marvel had some epic moments, but it was short on an epic theme.

A lot of comparison has been made between Captain Marvel and Wonder Woman. Both are recent solo superhero movies starring female leads. However, when I compare my emotional impressions of these characters to each other, Wonder Woman comes out on top quite easily. The reason, I think, is that when I think of Wonder Woman, I think of Hans Zimmer’s powerful theme that he created in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. You know what I mean. It's the one moment in the film that everyone agrees was great.

That music simply isn’t there when I think of Captain Marvel, and the character suffers because of it.

To be fair, the problem of a less than memorable score is not exclusive to Captain Marvel. It’s a problem the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe suffers from. The music isn’t bad and nothing is wrong with it, but there’s nothing quite like a memorable character theme, and few Marvel movies have them. Captain Marvel does have a theme, and it’s actually pretty decent, but I had to play the soundtrack on Spotify to hear it. I couldn’t tell you when in the movie it gets played. I don't recall hearing it at all, and that's part of the problem.

If you listen to Pinar Toprak's Captain Marvel score in its entirety, you'll hear that it's actually really good. The problem is the way it's mixed into the film. It's designed to fall into the background. It's designed to have you not notice it. It makes one wonder why the studio bothers to score so much of the movie if they don't want you to hear the music.

Marvel hasn't seemed as if it wanted us to care about the music for years. If the studio did, the music would be more consistent across films. Iron Man has three different themes in three different solo films, more if you count songs by AC/DC. Captain America has an actually pretty great theme in The First Avenger, which is then barely used in The Winter Soldier and utterly forgotten after that. Instead, Cap has a new theme in that movie, one you still never hear again. While Marvel has done a stellar job of making sure that its films have continuity of story, there is none in the music.

Some of this may be because nearly every Marvel movie is handled by a different composer, and clearly those composers want to make their own music, but it's not like the Harry Potter films forgot the theme John Williams wrote after he stopped scoring the movies.

Superhero themes can be some of the best pieces of music in modern films. John Williams’ theme for Superman and Danny Elfman’s Batman theme are classics. One Marvel theme, the Avengers theme, is a key part of the single most memorable moment in all of the MCU.

That moment would not have been nearly so memorable without that piece of music. It’s one of the few pieces of music that has been carried over from one film to another. It even shows up in Captain Marvel. It was at that point when I heard it that I realized that the movie had no noticeable theme for the main character the movie was actually about.

Of the 20+ movies and 10 + years that make up the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there are only a few themes worthy of note. If you look back at Avengers: Infinity War, a movie that contains basically every character who has ever appeared in the MCU, the only pieces of music you might recognize are the Avengers theme, which gets used twice, and the Wakanda theme from Black Panther.

And if we're being honest, one of those uses is totally wrong. The second time we hear the Avengers theme in Infinity War is when Thor, Groot, and Rocket arrive during the battle of Wakanda and help turn the tide. Only one of those characters is an actual Avenger. That moment would have been the perfect place for Thor's theme, an epic piece of music that told you the Asgardian was once again ready to fight with a new weapon by his side.

The problem is, if that piece of music had played, nobody would have recognized it because nobody can hum Thor's theme. Does Thor even have a theme? He has two actually. The movie needed a piece of music that conveyed to the audience all of that same information, and the Avengers theme is the only piece of music the audience knows well enough to be able to do that.

In the case of Captain Marvel, there is at least something of a reason why the score was downplayed. The focus, musically speaking, was on the '90s era music that made up the bulk of the soundtrack. The movie wants you to hear No Doubt more than it does the orchestral themes.

Still, we don't have to only pick one. The Guardians of the Galaxy movies make their '70s pop soundtrack not simply part of the movie, but part of the plot, and that didn't stop James Gunn and Tyler Bates from giving the team a solid theme that was used well in both Guardians of the Galaxy movies.

I loved almost everything about Captain Marvel. Everything on the screen was great, and yet, somehow I found something was lacking. What was missing was what I didn't hear. I hope that when Captain Marvel returns in Avengers: Endgame, her theme will be given some room to breathe. I hope some attention is given to it, because it will only make the character stronger.

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See How Cool Michael B. Jordan Could Look Like As DC's New Superman

See How Cool Michael B. Jordan Could Look Like As DC's New Superman

Sooner or later, Superman is going to return to the big screen and when he does, it seems likely that Henry Cavill will not be the one donning the cape. While we await the eventual casting speculation, one name that is already in the mix is Adonis Creed himself, Michael B. Jordan. The Creed II actor definitely has the charisma and he would look pretty cool as Supes if this fan art is anything to go by. Take a look:

Under most circumstances, you’d think that this action figure-like, carved from granite physique would be unrealistic. But given how in shape Michael B. Jordan got for Adonis’ fight with Viktor Drago, he really could be the most ripped Superman yet. And with a wry smile and a cool suit, Michael B. Jordan looks awesome and like a Superman that audiences would be excited to see.

That said, diiegodesigner’s fan art isn’t of Michael B. Jordan as Superman, well, at least not the Clark Kent/Kal-El version of the character. This fan art envisages Michael B. Jordan as Val-Zod. In the Earth 2 universe, Val-Zod is one of the children that escaped Krypton before it exploded, alongside Kal-El and Supergirl Kara Zor-El.

Upon arriving on Earth, Terry Sloan finds Val-Zod and raises him in seclusion, resulting in the Kryptonian having a far more pacifistic nature than those red eyes would suggest. Val-Zod later assumes the mantle of Superman after Kal-El.

So is this purely some fun fan casting or could it portend our cinematic future? Well, back when we heard that Henry Cavill might be out of the DCEU it was reported that Warner Bros. would be looking to go in a different direction for Superman in the future and had considered casting Michael B. Jordan.

For his part, Michael B. Jordan seems open to playing Superman, but not Clark Kent. Rather than deal with that level of scrutiny and comparison to what came before, the actor put forth the idea that he could instead play Calvin Ellis, the Superman of Earth-23. Based on Barack Obama, that character was the President and Superman and obviously has not been onscreen before.

Since he isn’t too keen on playing Clark Kent, perhaps Val-Zod could be another option for Michael B. Jordan. He’s got a bit more comics history than Calvin Ellis and Michael B. Jordan could play him without comparisons to past iterations of the character.

This is just the latest bit of fan art to imagine Michael B. Jordan as Superman, and it’s clear that despite having already been in superhero movies, some people are eager to see more of him. Michael B. Jordan has already played Johnny Storm in Fox’s Fantastic Four and Killmonger in Black Panther. All he has to do is join WB’s DC universe and snag a role in Sony’s Spider-Verse and he’ll have hit for the comic book movie universe cycle.

We still don’t know for sure what’s going on with Superman in the DCEU, but with DC on a roll of late with Shazam! and Aquaman, hopefully it won’t be too long before we find out and see the Man of Steel back on the big screen, in one form or another.

Check out our 2019 Release Schedule to get a look at all the biggest movies headed to theaters this summer and for all your superhero movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.

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Chris Evans Wants Captain America’s Suit

Chris Evans Wants Captain America’s Suit

The Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it will soon come to a close, as Avengers: Endgame is just one month away from theaters. 21 movies and ten years of filmmaking will collide in the final blockbuster in Phase Three, so the stakes are sky high. What's more, Endgame will likely mark the final bow for many of the OG Avengers, including Robert Downey Jr, Chris Hemsworth, and Chris Evans. The latter has spent many years as Steve Rogers/Captain America, and therefore has a few things he'd like as a memento for his tenure in the MCU.

Appearing in seven Marvel blockbusters (in addition to a handful of cameos), Chris Evans' Captain America has been one of the most significant characters in the entirety of the shared universe. As such, he's worn a ton of different suits throughout various adventures. And the 37 year-old actor wants to take a Cap costume home. As he recently revealed:

I'm going to ask for the full suit I never asked for the full suit. Hemsworth got the full suit. I want the full suit.

While they've worked together for years, it appears that The Avengers still have some healthy rivalry. And if Chris Hemsworth got to take home a Thor suit, then Chris Evans wants to follow suit for Captain America. He spent long enough in the costume, after all.

Chris Evans' comments to THR revealed that he's already managed to take home a prop of Captain America's signature shield. The vibranium weapon is Cap's signature accessory during his onscreen appearances, and he's used it in a variety of ways in during Evans' impressive run in the MCU. But while he's managed to take home a shield, he still needs to get his hands on a full costume.

If Marvel Studios ends up coming through for Chris Evans and granting him a Captain America costume, one had to wonder which suit will be selected. There have been a ton of very different suits over the years, so will Evans get to pick? And will it be a classic Phase 1 costume, or the more gritty versions from Phase Three?

Captain America's suits very closely resembled the comics during his early appearances in Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers. They were bright and colorful, and even featured his iconic little wings on his headpiece. But as the MCU began growing, Cap's suits got more tactical and armored. And when we eventually saw him in Infinity War, the suit was badly damaged from his years on the run.

The surviving heroes including Cap will be getting fancy matching suits in Avengers: Endgame, as seen in the final trailer. But his classic costume is also shown, so it should be interesting to see where The Russo Brothers take the character for his final outing.

Avengers: Endgame will arrive in theaters on April 26th. In the meantime, check out our 2019 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.

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The Goldfinch Trailer Puts Ansel Elgort Through Emotional Hell

The Goldfinch Trailer Puts Ansel Elgort Through Emotional Hell

After Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch became a literary hit in 2014, which included it winning the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the Andrew Carnegie Medal, it seemed like only a matter of time before a film version would come. Warner Bros swiftly struck a deal shortly after it was published and an adaptation is coming to the big screen this fall, with Baby Driver’s Ansel Elgort, Nicole Kidman and Sarah Paulson leading the drama.

Check out the intriguing and emotional first look at The Goldfinch with its trailer below:

As a good trailer should, this establishes the tone and interest in the movie without giving too much away about what audiences are in for. Ansel Elgort leads The Goldfinch as Theo Decker, a young man haunted by the day his mother was killed in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City while he was was 13 years old.

The film’s title references the priceless painting the mother and son gaze upon right before the bombing which Theo takes and keeps with him throughout his life journey chronicled in the film.

The Goldfinch trailer flashes between Theo’s past and present, carefully unraveling his personal tragedy and how it alters his life. He comes across various characters, including a childhood friend named Boris, played by Stranger Things’ Finn Wolfhard as a kid and replaced by Dunkirk’s Aneurin Barnard as they grow older.

The cast also includes Nicole Kidman as Mrs. Barbour, who is his caretaker for sometime, along with Luke Wilson, who plays his problematic dad who has a girlfriend named Xandra (Sarah Paulson). Westworld’s Jeffrey Wright appears as Hobie, an unlikely friend to Theo during his time of loss.

Along with The Goldfinch having an impressive cast, behind the scenes is John Crowley as director, who previously helmed the Oscar-nominated drama Brooklyn. The script was written by Peter Straughan, whose other credits include Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Frank and The Snowman. The movie was also produced by Nina Jacobson and Brad Simpson, who worked on Crazy Rich Asians, American Crime Story and Ben is Back together.

The Goldfinch novel was over 700 pages long, so the movie is tackling a ton of material for one film. It was previously considered for a miniseries, but the project ultimately landed with Warner Bros and Amazon Studios.

The Goldfinch certainly looks to showcase an especially good performance for Ansel Elgort, who broke out in 2014 with his Fault in Our Stars and Divergent roles. The 25-year-old actor will also star in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake coming in December 2020.

The drama is opening alongside crime comedy Hustlers, starring Constance Wu, Jennifer Lopez, Julia Stiles and Lili Reinhart, about a group of former strippers who band together to steal from their Wall Street clients on September 13. Both films will go up against IT Chapter 2’s second weekend at the box office.

Are you excited to see The Goldfinch? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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