One of the highest-rated Harry Potter films is making a big return to UK cinemas to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
Can you believe it’s been two whole decades since Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was released to the world?
Well, whether it’s something you can wrap your head around it or not, the beloved film – which is the third instalment in the Harry Potter franchise, which is arguably, one of the most famous film franchises of all time – officially hit cinemas on 23 May 2004… and then, from that date onwards, the rest is history, as they say.
Starring Daniel Radcliffe as the title character, alongside Emma Watson as Hermione Granger, and Rupert Grint as Ron Weasley, as well as a hugely-star-studded wider supporting cast, the movie went on to gross a whopping $804 million worldwide, and has not only earned its place in fans’, but was also widely-praised by critics at the time.
One of the highest-rated Harry Potter films is returning to UK cinemas for its 20th anniversary / Credit: Warners Bros.
In fact, according to critic websites such as Rotten Tomatoes, IMDb, and Metacritic, it’s actually one of the best-rated films in the franchise.
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And now, to celebrate this impressive 20-year milestone, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is making a return to UK cinemas from the end of this month, and this means you’ll be able to rally together your fellow Potterheads and head to your nearest screen to immersive yourself in all the nostalgia.
A synopsis for the beloved blockbuster – which is based on the 1999 novel of the same name, and was directed by acclaimed director, Alfonso Cuaron – explains: “Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of 13, particularly since he has survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion.
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“But, his hopes for a quiet school term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison.
“It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be.. but is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark? And should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?”
The beloved film will hit cinemas nationwide from the end of this month / Credit: Krists Luhaers (via Unsplash)
Several cinema chains will be showing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at a whole host of sites across Greater Manchester from the 31 May onwards.
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Vue, Odeon, Cineworld, and Everyman Cinemas are just a few of the participating companies.
Fancy it then? If you’re a big Harry Potter fan and are keen to reminisce on an important film from your younger years, then tickets to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in UK cinemas are now on sale.
You can book tickets to a screening online from your chosen participating cinema.
Featured Image – Warner Bros.
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‘The average cost of a pint’ in the UK by region, according to the latest data
Danny Jones
Does it feel like pints keep getting more and more expensive almost every week at this point? Yes. Yes, it does, and while you can’t expect a city as big as Manchester to be one of the cheapest places to get one in the UK, we do often wonder how it compares to other parts of the country.
Well, as it happens, someone has recently crunched the numbers for us across the nation, breaking down which regions pay the most and the least for their pints.
The data has been examined by business management consultancy firm, CGA Strategy, using artificial intelligence and information from the latest Retail Price Index figures to find out what the ‘average cost of a pint’ is down south, up North and everywhere in between.
While the latest statistics provided by the group aren’t granular enough to educate us on Greater Manchester’s pint game exactly, we can show you how our particular geographic region is looking on the leaderboard at the moment.
That’s right, we Mancunians and the rest of the North West are technically joint mid-table when it comes to the lowest average cost of a pint, sharing the places from 3rd to 8th – according to CGA, anyway.
Powered by consumer intelligence company, NIQ (NielsenIQ) – who also use AI and the latest technology to deliver their insights – we can accept it might seem like it’s been a while since you’ve paid that little for a pint, especially in the city centre, but these are the stats they have published.
Don’t shoot the messenger, as they say; unless, of course, they’re trying to rob you blind for a bev. Fortunately, we’ve turned bargain hunting at Manchester bars into a sport at this point.
We might not boast the lowest ‘average’ pint cost in the UK, but we still have some bloody good places to keep drinking affordable.
London tops the charts (pretends to be shocked)
While some of you may have scratched your eyes at the supposed average pint prices here in the North West, it won’t surprise any of you to see that London leads the way when it came to the most expensive pint when it came to average cost in the UK.
To be honest, £5.44 doesn’t just sound cheap but virtually unheard of these days.
CGA has it that the average cost of a beer in the British capital is actually down 15p from its price last September, but as we all know, paying upwards of £7 for a pint down that end of the country is pretty much par for the course the closer you get to London.
Yet more reason you can be glad you live around here, eh? And in case you thought you were leaving this article with very little, think again…
Benson Boone has announced a headline gig in Manchester – and it’s a big one
Danny Jones
American pop sensation and unrivalled king of unnecessary front flips, Benson Boone, has just announced his first-ever headline Manchester arena gig as part of a new arena tour.
The solo artist and acrobatic chart-topper has seen a meteoric rise in the US and, as is usually the case across the Atlantic, he’s become increasingly popular over here too.
Benson may have performed here in Manchester before as part of the 2024 MTV EMAs and for a small show at The Deaf Institute, but now big fans have the added Boone of getting to watch a standalone show at one of Europe’s leading indoor entertainment venues.
Announced on Friday, 30 May, the 22-year-old will be making his way across the pond from Washington for a limited run of UK concerts, with a date at Co-op Live arena being one of just five dates.
Extending his ‘American Heart Tour’ ahead of the release of his eponymous sophomore record, with this autumn leg, Co-op Live will mark his individual visit to 0161.
The Grammy-nominated artist has earned several nods of recognition already for his first album, Fireworks & Rollerblades, which was released just last spring.
He has been described as among the current trend of male singers who fit into the American Idol and ‘Voice audition pop’ genre (a term recently coined online), along with the likes of Teddy Swims, Shawn Mendes, Alex Warren and others.
Regardless of the slightly tongue-in-cheek term, he’s become a huge hit around the world and landing him is still a big coup for the venue that has already welcomed similarly massive pop contemporaries like Swims, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more.
In case you’re wondering just how big a deal he is over in the States, even this early in his career, his domestic headline dates sold out in seconds, quite literally…
The last time he visited Co-op Live was to perform at the most recent MTV EMAs
Benson Boone is coming to Manchester on Monday, 27 October and will be playing just two other British venues: The O2 in London (two nights) and the Utilita Arena in Birmingham.
Safe to say you don’t want to miss this one if you like soaring vocals and lots of flipping.
General admission tickets go live at 10am on Thursday, 5 June, but Co-op Members can gain access via the arena’s official pre-sale window from the same time on Tuesday (3 Jun).
Emily Sergeant -
28th May 2024 
