In 1997, when the first installment of the Harry Potter novels was published, the world was introduced to a wondrous fantasy world, as seen through the eyes of the titular young wizard, that continues to enchant and inspire today. Of course, these adventures might not be as popular today if not for the release of the Harry Potter movies, which broke box office records, received many esteemed accolades, and left their mark on pop culture forever.
The Wizarding World is set to be revived once again as an upcoming Harry Potter TV show, which will, one day, be exclusively available to stream with a Max subscription, which is also how you can revisit the original cinematic saga and its prequel series, the Fantastic Beasts movies. However, that is not the only way to experience every adaptation of the classic YA fantasy novels, as we will show in our guide for how to watch or rewatch the Harry Potter movies in order of release date.
The Harry Potter Movies
Relive the original eight cinematic adventures starring the world's favorite young wizard.
Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
From director Chris Columbus, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (also known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) introduced everyone to the 11-year-old title hero (played by Daniel Radcliffe) as he discovers that he is not just a neglected child, but a wizard. He then travels to Hogwarts, the magical school where he meets his soon-to-be best friends, Hermione Granger (Emma Watson) and Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint). Quickly, our hero is tested when he learns that dark forces reside in Hogwarts trying to bring back He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (or, for those brave souls, Lord Voldemort).
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Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002)
Chris Columbus and most of the main cast and crew return to bring Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets to the big screen. Ron, Hermione, and Harry return to Hogwarts a little older, a little wiser, and just as troublesome. This time, Harry finds a mysterious diary from a former Hogwarts student named Tom Riddle (Christian Coulson). Nothing weird or sketchy could be associated with this strange diary, right? Wrong! It leads Harry and his friends to more danger and mischief.
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Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004)
It’s Year 3 and the mysteries and danger are even greater in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Alfonso Cuaron steps in to direct what is considered to be one of the absolute best Harry Potter movies (after Gilderoy Lockhart actor Kenneth Branagh was considered) that sees Harry going deeper into his parents' past. After learning that Sirius Black (Gary Oldman), a criminal and presumed Voldemort supporter, has escaped from Azkaban, he fears that Sirius is hunting him down with plans to kill him.
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Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005)
Before Robert Pattinson was the Twilight movies’ Edward Cullen or one of the best live-action Batman movie actors, he was having his glory stolen by Harry Potter as Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, which also marks Ralph Fiennes’ debut as Voldemort. It’s time for the Triwizard Tournament and three magical schools are competing with one 17-year-old representative from each school participating, but 14-year-old Harry is selected along with Cedric to represent Hogwarts. This creates a big scandal and, of course, leads to danger in director Mike Newell’s thrilling adaptation of one of the series’ most exciting books.
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Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007)
After the events of Goblet of Fire, we witness a darker, more cynical Harry in Harry Potter and the Order of The Phoenix, as our hero forms a secret group known as Dumbledore’s Army to practice defensive spells. The film – the first of many in the series directed by David Yates – also sees Harry and his long-time crush Cho Chang (Katie Leung) explore their feelings for each other, and we meet Dolores Umbridge (Imelda Staunton), who is easily one of the worst Harry Potter villains ever, if not the worst.
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Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009)
It’s the sixth year and the big conclusion is drawing near as Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, and Ron’s sister, Ginny (Bonnie Wright), are now in their mid-teens and full of angst and hormones. When not dealing with various romantic problems, we see Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters brewing a wicked plan that will change Harry’s world forever. David Yates returns to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which explores the franchise’s coming-of-age themes deeper than the previous films, and boasts a few shocking and tragic moments that set the course for the final two movies.
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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
The final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was broken down into two films, both directed by David Yates, to really flesh out the final story, which revolves around Harry, Ron, and Hermione trying to obtain and destroy the Horcruxes in order to kill Voldemort. Part 1 emphasizes a lot of the emotional turmoil that the trio face as they are forced to isolate themselves from everyone else and process their losses over the past six movies.
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Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
It’s all coming to an end as Harry, Ron, Hermione, and company face off against Voldemort one last time in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. This movie – which is fascinating to watch just to see how much the Harry Potter cast had grown – reveals all the secrets that have been hidden for seven films, gives fans a big battle between Harry and Voldemort, fulfills all leftover prophecies, and shows the peak of Neville Longbottom’s (Matthew Lewis) extreme personality change from a clumsy geek to an honorable hero.
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The Fantastic Beasts Movies
Though released years after the final Harry Potter film, the Fantastic Beasts movies are set decades before Harry’s life and time at Hogwarts.
Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016)
Set in 1926 and inspired by an in-universe textbook of the same name written by J.K. Rowling, director David Yates’ Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them sees Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) go on an adventure to help an abused and neglected boy named Credence (Ezra Miller). Newt also has to locate some of his missing creatures, and we meet a bunch of other new characters, including an American witch named Tina (Katherine Waterston), her sister, Queenie (Alison Sudol), muggle/no-maj baker Jacob (Dan Fogler), and Colin Farrell as Percival Graves – a wizard detective who is not quite what he seems.
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Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018)
Following the shocking twist ending of the first Fantastic Beasts, The Crimes Of Grindelwald focuses mainly on Credence, Newt and his family, and the scheming of the titular villain (played by Johnny Depp). Jude Law joins the cast as a younger Dumbledore in a sequel that, despite changes to the established canon, is a magical adventure through and through.
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Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022)
Picking up where the last film left off, the power and influence of Gellert Grindelwald (this time played by Mads Mikkelsen) continues to rise after acquiring a devoted following that includes Queenie, much to Jacob’s dismay. Thus, the muggle is recruited to help Albus Dumbledore, Newt Scamander, and others to defeat the evil wizard before it is too late. Once again directed by David Yates, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore offers new reveals by the ending that would prove to be a shock for longtime fans of the Wizarding World.
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If you're looking to check in on what became of Harry, Ron and Hermione in their adult years, check out the stage production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The script for the play is available for purchase, however, since it's a play, it's really meant to be seen on the stage, if you're able to get to New York or London.
