Harry Potter Fans Still Divided Over Removed Scene From Goblet of Fire

It has been 20 years since the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie released, which is based on the 2000 J.K. Rowling novel of the same name. The fourth movie in the eight-movie adaptation of the Harry Potter books, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is a fan favorite of many. It’s the movie Voldemort finally gets his big reveal. There are also many series plot-moving scenes, yet it is still very much Hogwarts-focused, unlike some of the movies that come after it. And it, alongside Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, is a bridge between the more childish wonder quality of the first two book and movies, and the more adult quality of the final few books and movies.

If you ask any random Harry Potter fan what their favorite movie is, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is going to be one of the most common, if not the most popular, shout. While it is a favorite among many more casual fans though, it is well known that many of the most hardcore fans have major criticisms of it, largely because it leaves out so much of the book.

To this end, one of the top posts on the Harry Potter Reddit page this week is a post about The Goblet of Fire and how it leaves out so much of the Quidditch World Cup, much to the annoyance of fans.

“During Quidditch World Cup when the PM announces the games I thought to myself: ‘Oh I loved this part in the book. This scene is really good.” Then the movie cut to the Weasleys in their tent talking about the game,” reads the post in question. “No, seriously, I paused the movie and went to get some water to digest what had just happened. You, the director, make a giant opening sequence presenting the event only to give your viewer nothing? This can only be a tasteless joke, it’s not like he didn’t have the budget or something.”

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Of course, there are plenty of comments that reinforce what the popularity of the post suggests, which is that this is not an isolated hot take.

“You’ll find that Goblet of Fire is one of the worst movies, simply because of what they left out,” reads one of these comments. Meanwhile, another adds: “They cut out so much, probably because the book is one of the longer ones, but you’d think they’d at least keep the World Cup scenes.”

There are a ton of comments like these, but there’s also some pushback, with some fans noting it is hardly a plot relevant scene.

“The quidditch match itself is irrelevant to the plot. Sorry but its true,” writes one Harry Potter fan.

Of course, there is also the matter of budget and time. While the movie had a large budget, it had a lot to fit into this budget, including a ton of expensive CGI, which the World Cup matches would have relied on. And this ties into the previous point of whether the scenes justify the expense.

“To be fair, this book is jam packed with important action scenes so showing a quidditch game where our main characters are just spectators isn’t really the best use of time or budget,” writes one fan. “The real thing that happens at the World Cup is the dark mark and the attack on the muggles, which they did show

Of course, the reason this was a debate back in 2005, and is still a debate in 2025, is because it is ultimately subjective. Of course, it is not the most important scene, but there are plenty of non-important scenes in The Goblet of Fire that made the movie cut.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment letting us know what you think. Meanwhile, for more Harry Potter coverage — including all of the latest Harry Potter news, all of the latest Harry Potter rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Harry Potter deals — click here.