Credit: ITMThere have been numerous British film franchises that have captivated generations, from watching a magical nanny caring for some precocious children to the perilous journey made to Mordor. Yet, the franchise to have left an astronomical impact on pop culture has been from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It seems that Warner Bros. not only capitalized on creating eight successful movies based on the best-selling book series but also scammed the cast through illegal work practices, according to one former cast member.
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter became a global phenomenon even before the movies. Author J.K. Rowling’s story of the boy who lived to become a rebellious wizard that defeated a dark magic tyrant would go on to make $7.7 billion in book sales. Warner Bros. would then acquire the rights to adapt Harry Potter into eight movies and three spinoff prequels. This would prove to be a magical acquisition as the films would rake in $9.5 billion at the box office worldwide, discounting DVD or digital sales, as well as Warner Bros.-approved merchandise.
Warner Bros. Discovery would even make the franchise a priority during a regime-shifting earnings call. CEO David Zaslav even stated, “Focus on the big movies that are loved, that are tentpoles, that people are going to leave early from dinner to go to see. If we can doing something with J.K [Rowling] Harry Potter going forward.”
While the studio has hit the pause button on any future theatrically released projects, they are planning to reboot Harry Potter as a Max original TV series. Warner Bros. has also had a massive achievement with Hogwarts Legacy. This critically acclaimed video game has amassed over $1 billion despite its boycott due to Rowling’s mired reputation. The Wizarding World’s continued success has only increased as Harry Potter actors have also turned to social media to provide fans with inside looks and anecdotes about the making of the beloved franchise.
Samantha Clinch was a child actress who started as a Hogwarts student extra, but was later promoted to be the sheepish character, Eloise Midgen in the Goblet of Fire. The actress has now built a devoted following as she creates TikToks recapping her memories while on set of the iconic films. This was her latest shocking revelation:
@samanthaclinch Replying to @Bear The money video 💰 How much I earnt as an extra, how much I earned as #eloisemidgen how much #danielradcliffe was paid, how we got the most for our money 🍴 AND what I spent it on 🥲 #nostalgia #harrypotterbts #harrypotterextra #harrynpotter #harrypottertok #harrypotterandthegobletofire #gof #harrypottertok #childstar #fyp
She divulged that even though she and her cast mates were minors, they would work 12-hour work days, starting at 5:30 AM. One of the most shocking details was that she was paid £35 ($42) a day, which was £2.91 ($3.55) an hour. While the pay is drastically subpar, even for the 2000s, the most striking aspect of her testimonial was that she and her cast mates worked 12-hour days. That would be illegal in the United States as underaged teenagers could work only eight hours.
Although the films were shot in the U.K., Warner Bros. still got away with making the non-speaking roles of their child extras work longer hours. U.K. laws state children talent must only work 40 hour weeks, 8 hours a day. It also states that minors cannot start before 7 AM or after 7 PM during school hours. The actress also made no mention of residual pay after being cast as Eloise Midgen. While Clinch makes light of the experience, it does point to a troubling treatment of the child extras by a major movie studio.
What do you think of Clinch’s confession? Should she get residuals or reparation pay?