It's been six years since the Harry Potter series concluded with The Deathly Hallows - Part 2, but just like Star Wars, Lord of the Rings and more, this is a cinematic franchise that continues to be popular and will remain so for many years to come. Many of you have likely stumbled across these Wizarding World tales on Freeform (formerly known as ABC Family) while channel surfing. However, starting at the beginning of next year, you'll be able to watch all the Harry Potter movies without commercial interruption if you're subscribed to HBO.
On January 1, 2018, the Harry Potter film series will be added to HBO's library of theatrical content, meaning you'll be able to view them not just on the main channel and HBO On Demand, but on HBO GO and HBO NOW, too. They join Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the 2016 prequel which has already been available on HBO for a while. This move marks the first time that all the Wizarding World tales are available on the same network, not to mention the first time they can all be streamed on the same service. To celebrate this occasion, HBO will air a Harry Potter marathon on January 1 starting at 9 a.m. EST/PST, and after the seven main films have all aired, Fantastic Beasts will cap things off in the early morning of January 2. Following that, one of the Wizarding World films will air each night at 8 p.m. EST/PST starting January 2.
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter book series was already immensely successful by the time The Sorcerer's Stone film adaptation was released in 2001, but the film series went on to enjoy its own prosperity, with the eight movies collectively making over $7.7 billion worldwide. To be clear, if you've enjoyed watching Freeform's Harry Potter marathons for years, the 2017 holiday season will be your last time being able to see them on that channel. However, HBO won't be only spot on TV to check out the Harry Potter movies next year. NBCUniversal announced last year that starting in July 2018 and into 2025, it would air the film series across its TV channels, including USA Network and Syfy.
Although the Harry Potter saga was revisited last year through the stage play The Cursed Child, there are no plans to adapt that production for the big screen. However, Warner Bros is making sure that fans can still get their fill of the Wizarding World through the Fantastic Beasts series, which is set seven decades before the main Harry Potter events. Next year, Fantastic Beasts 2 will reunite moviegoers with Newt Scamander and his allies when they join forces with Albus Dumbledore to apprehend Gellert Grindelwald, the world's most dangerous Dark Wizard at the time.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them 2 casts its spell in theaters on November 16, 2018. As for what else is being released next year, look through our 2018 premiere guide to see what catches your fancy.
