Synopsis

During his fourth year at Hogwarts, Harry Potter is unexpectedly selected to compete in the dangerous Triwizard Tournament alongside older students from two visiting wizarding schools. As he faces three increasingly perilous challenges, tensions rise between the competitors and within the school. Meanwhile, mysterious events surrounding the tournament signal that Voldemort's return may be closer than anyone realizes.

Factoids & Trivia

• Principal photography began on May 4, 2004, and continued until March 18, 2005. Much of the production took place at Leavesden Studios in England.

• The film was adapted from J.K. Rowling's 636-page novel. The filmmakers considered splitting the story into two movies, but ultimately shaped it as a single 157-minute feature.

• Oxford locations used in the film include the New College cloister, where Harry confronts Draco Malfoy, and the Divinity School, which serves as the setting for the dance lessons before the Yule Ball.

• The underwater scenes for the second Triwizard Tournament task combined studio work, visual effects, and specialized effects production. DNEG handled visual effects for major sequences, including the merpeople and the tournament's more dangerous environments.

• The film earned a BAFTA nomination for special visual effects and won the Alexander Korda Award for the Outstanding British Film of the Year, as well as BAFTA's production design award.

• Its November 18, 2005, US release marked a major tonal shift for the series, moving the story more firmly from childhood fantasy toward adolescent conflict, romance, and darker supernatural danger.