It finally happened. Fourteen nominations later, J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World — encapsulating Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts — has won an Oscar.
In a surprise to many, Fantastic Beasts won Best Costume Design at the 2017 Academy Awards on Sunday night. The movie did not win its other nomination, Best Production Design (which went to La La Land).
A “surprise” because the Harry Potter film series was nominated 12 times (a number that made frequent appearances throughout the Harry Potter series) throughout the years, but not once did it win. Things changed for the Wizarding World in 2017!
It was an exciting moment for Harry Potter fans, as it was hard to watch the original eight movies lose time and time again — even when Warner Brothers made a heavy Oscar push for Deathly Hallows, Part 2. They held special screenings, printed special “For Your Consideration” booklets, and hung up billboards all over Los Angeles, and it was all for nothing.
Unlike Deathly Hallows, Fantastic Beasts didn’t get a For Your Consideration campaign.
Colleen Atwood won the Best Costume Design Oscar for Fantastic Beasts. She didn’t work on the Harry Potter movies, but her other credits include Alice in Wonderland, Dark Shadows, Into the Woods, and Snow White and the Huntsman.
Harry Potter received the following Oscar nominations:
- Sorcerer’s Stone: Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Original Score
- Prisoner of Azkaban: Best Original Score, Best Visual Effects
- Goblet of Fire: Best Art Direction
- Half-Blood Prince: Best Cinematography
- Deathly Hallows, Part 1: Best Art Direction, Best Visual Effects
- Deathly Hallows, Part 2: Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, Best Visual Effects