Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is a
2004 fantasy adventure film, based on the
novel of the same name by
J. K. Rowling. Directed by
Alfonso Cuarón, it is the third film in the popular
Harry Potter series. It stars
Daniel Radcliffe as the teenage wizard
Harry Potter, and
Rupert Grint and
Emma Watson as Harry's best friends
Ron Weasley and
Hermione Granger.
Gary Oldman and
David Thewlis joined the cast as the new characters
Sirius Black and
Remus Lupin. In this movie, the role of
Albus Dumbledore was played by
Michael Gambon who took over from the late
Richard Harris who died of
Hodgkin's disease.
Steve Kloves returned as
screenwriter, while
Chris Columbus (the director of the previous two films) became a producer, alongside
David Heyman. The film was released on 31 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and on 4 June 2004 in the United States as the first film released into
IMAX theaters.
The film was nominated for two
Academy Awards —
Academy Award for Original Music Score and
Academy Award for Visual Effects at the
77th Academy Awards held in 2005.