Emma Watson will always be our Hermione Granger, but even the brightest witch of her age isn’t immune to a few Hollywood hexes.
Fans on X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok are currently deep-diving into the archives, and they’ve spotted something surprising: a “rocky” five-year period where the Harry Potter alum struggled to find her footing with critics and audiences alike.
While Watson was once the golden girl of the industry, a string of “Rotten” scores on Rotten Tomatoes recently sparked a viral conversation about the star’s “dreadful” career streak—and the one movie that finally broke the spell.
The dip reportedly began around the time of The Bling Ring and hit a major snag with the biblical epic Noah. Although the Darren Aronofsky film was a commercial juggernaut—raking in over $ million—the audience reaction was anything but divine.
Despite Watson’s powerhouse performance as Ila, Noah currently sits with a dismal % Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes. While critics liked the “sweeping visuals,” fans were less than thrilled with how much the story strayed from the source material.
Unfortunately, the “bad luck” didn’t stop there. Between and , Watson starred in a series of projects that failed to land.
There was the thriller Regression, which plummeted to a shocking % on the Tomatometer, followed by Colonia and the tech-thriller The Circle. Even her turn as Belle in Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast received scores that many fans considered “underwhelming” compared to the high stakes of her early career.
But just when it seemed the streak might never end, director Greta Gerwig stepped in with a project that changed everything.
In , Watson starred as Meg March in the star-studded adaptation of Little Women. Alongside powerhouse costars Saoirse Ronan and Florence Pugh, Watson finally found her magic again.
The film was an instant sensation, soaring to a % critical score and a % audience score. It didn’t just win over the critics; it officially broke Watson’s four-year slump and reminded the world why she’s a force to be reckoned with.
“It’s easily her best work since Hogwarts,” one fan gushed on Instagram. “She was born to play Meg March.”
However, despite the massive success of Little Women, Watson has famously been absent from the big screen ever since. In a candid interview with the Financial Times, the actress opened up about why she decided to take a hiatus from the industry that made her a household name.
“I wasn’t very happy,” Watson admitted, revealing she felt “a bit caged” by the Hollywood machine. “The thing I found really hard was that I had to go out and sell something that I really didn’t have very much control over.”
The star explained that being the “face and spokesperson” for projects where she wasn’t involved in the creative process became a heavy burden.
“It was very difficult to have to be the face… for things where I didn’t get to be involved in the process,” she shared.
While the break has been long, Watson’s fans can breathe a sigh of relief—the hiatus isn’t permanent. The actress assured her followers that she would “absolutely” return to acting if the right project came along.
Until then, she’s trading the red carpet for a quieter life, leaving behind a legacy that—thanks to the March sisters—ended on a definitive high note.
Unexpected Team-Up: Prince William and Emma Watson Unite for Change
Prince William had plenty to celebrate this weekend, but his latest public appearance quickly turned heads for a very different reason. After marking his 44th birthday and Father's Day with his family, the future king returned to royal duties—and made a surprisingly personal confession about the emotional toll of climate change.
William joined Hollywood stars Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch at a United for Wildlife forum in London, an initiative he launched with the Royal Foundation in 2013. The organization works around the world to combat wildlife trafficking, environmental crime, and the destruction of endangered species.
But it was William's candid admission about his own fears that stole the spotlight.
The Prince of Wales revealed that climate change has caused him "sleepless nights," admitting he has struggled with anxiety about what the future could look like. Yet instead of allowing those fears to overwhelm him, William said seeing real progress through conservation efforts has helped keep his environmental anxiety under control.
He also delivered a powerful message to business leaders, urging them to become the kind of leaders they admired when they were children. With technology and innovation transforming the world at an incredible pace, William challenged CEOs to use their influence to create meaningful change.
The event launched London Climate Action Week, with more royal appearances expected, including the Earthshot Prize assembly.
Emma Watson also delivered a surprising revelation of her own. The Harry Potter star highlighted the fashion industry's enormous environmental impact, pointing out that it produces more emissions than aviation and ranks behind only oil among major polluting industries.
Watson, who is also pursuing a doctorate in philosophy at Oxford, shared a hilarious story about mistakenly believing paparazzi were following her. After spotting photographers with telephoto lenses, she arranged a distraction and escaped through another exit. The twist? They weren't photographing her at all. They were waiting to capture a red kite.
Meanwhile, Benedict Cumberbatch praised William as "a great guy" and urged businesses and individuals to recognize that they can still make a difference, even when global environmental challenges appear overwhelming.
With William, Watson, and Cumberbatch joining forces on the issue, the London forum delivered a clear message: the fight against environmental destruction is becoming impossible for the world's biggest names to ignore.
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