How to watch the Harry Potter movies in order (chronological and release date)
All aboard the Hogwarts Express! Here’s how to watch the Harry Potter movies in order
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
Watching theHarry Pottermovies in order is the ultimate movie marathon. Consisting of eight spellbinding films (11 if you include theFantastic Beastsprequel series), the magical book series is brought to life on screen, and it’ll take you just under 20 hours to complete. It’s an epic tale following boy wizard, Harry Potter, and his adventures at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unbeknownst to him, at first, he’s the target of the Dark Lord, Voldemort, and so navigating the complexities of growing up becomes an incredibly perplexing experience.
The magic now extends beyond the original series to theFantastic Beastsprequel saga, as well as the stage playHarry Potter and the Cursed Child. There’s even aHarry Potter TV show slated to arrive in 2026from Max, aka one of the world’sbest streaming services. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to stream theHarry Pottermovies in order, both chronological and by release, in the US, UK, and Australia.
How to watch the Harry Potter movies in chronological order
Want to know how to watch theHarry Pottermovies in chronological order – including theFantastic Beastsprequel series and popular Broadway/West End stage playHarry Potter and the Cursed Child? Allow us to steer you in the right direction.
TheFantastic Beastsprequel series is set many decades before Harry, Ron and Hermione’s time at Hogwarts. Warner Bros. originally planned to make fiveFantastic Beastsmovies, but it now looks like that the third entry in the saga,The Secrets of Dumbledore, will be the last. It received mixed reviews on its theatrical release, and was the lowest-grossing film in the entire franchise – in fact, according toVariety, it barely broke even at the box office. When asked about the series' future in October 2023, director David Yates toldTotal Film: “With Beasts, it’s all just parked.”
Aside from the occasional flashback, the franchise’s Hogwarts-based movies follow a simple linear structure, owing to author JK Rowling’s decision to use the British academic calendar as a framework for her narrative. That means each of the seven books in the Potter series is set in a different September-August school year, starting in 1991 when Harry was 11 years old.
While the movies were made in the 2000s – and feature the occasional anachronism such as 21st century mobile phones or music – it’s likely they follow the same carefully crafted timeline as Rowling’s books. That places theHarry Potterfilms some 60-70 years after theirFantastic Beastscounterparts in the Wizarding Worldcanon.
And the story of the “boy who lived” continues beyond his final reckoning with Lord Voldemort – though not on screen – thanks to the hit stage playHarry Potter and the Cursed Child. The story picks up in 2017, during the epilogue fromHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and features the now grown-up Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Draco Malfoy, as well as their kids.
Get the best Black Friday deals direct to your inbox, plus news, reviews, and more.
Sign up to be the first to know about unmissable Black Friday deals on top tech, plus get all your favorite TechRadar content.
How to watch the Harry Potter movies in release date order
There are no complicated interweaving timelines to deal with if you watch theHarry Pottermovies in order of their release dates. The Wizarding World film franchise consists of two distinct series, with a set of prequels following on from the parent saga.
It’s also interesting to note that there are moreHarry Pottermovies than there are books, with final novelThe Deathly Hallowssplit into two parts because there was so much story to cram in. Besides, all the extra box office cash earned by an extra Potter film won’t have hurt Warner Bros.' bottom line. Anyway, here are the 11Harry Pottermovies in release date order:
Where to watch the Harry Potter movies in order
In the US, the movies are available on the Warner Bros. Discovery-ownedMax. The eightHarry Potterfilms are also available onPeacock, thanks to a deal signed between Warner and NBCUniversal Media back in 2016, which sees the US streaming rights for the Hogwarts-set movies shared between the two conglomerates.
In the UK, you can watch every Wizarding World adventure onSky. You can also catch all 11 films onNetflix. Plus, the first fiveHarry Potterfilms can be streamed on ITVX.
If you’re in Australia, it’s slightly more complicated. You can watch them on Netflix,Binge,Foxtel, andStan. However, theFantastic Beastsfilms are split between a few streamers.Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themis on Netflix, Binge and Stan, whileThe Crimes of Grindelwaldis on Netflix, Binge, Foxtel, and Stan. And, at the time of writing,The Secrets of Dumbledorecan only be streamed on Stan, or bought throughAppleTV orAmazonPrime. Read this article to find out more abouthow to watchHarry Pottermovies online.
Every Harry Potter movie ranked
As with theHarry Potternovels, fans tend to have different opinions on which films in the series are the best. Ranking theHarry Pottermovies by their IMDb user scores subsequently throws up remarkably consistent results, with all eight installments clustered between 7.4 and 8.1 out of 10. (For TechRadar’s opinion on the subject, see our in-depth guide on thebestHarry Pottermovies ranked, from worst to best).
The threeFantastic Beastsmovies are clearly the least loved releases. Take their IMDb user scores in comparison to the originalHarry Potterseries - the first received 7.2, the second movie got 6.5, while the third entry in the series dropped to 6.2.
The most successful of the three,Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, made less money than all-but-one of theHarry Pottermovies (The Prisoner of Azkaban). But, seeing as it had 12 years of inflation on its side, it’s debatable whether it actually outperformed the third Hogwarts film in real terms with only $5 million difference at the box office.
For more information on how to watch other film franchises, read our guides onhow to watch the Marvel movies in order,how to stream the DC movies in order,how to watch the Batman movies in order, andhow to stream the Spider-Man movies in order.
Richard is a freelance journalist specialising in movies and TV, primarily of the sci-fi and fantasy variety. An early encounter with a certain galaxy far, far away started a lifelong love affair with outer space, and these days Richard’s happiest geeking out about Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel and other long-running pop culture franchises. In a previous life he was editor of legendary sci-fi and fantasy magazine SFX, where he got to interview many of the biggest names in the business – though he’ll always have a soft spot for Jeff Goldblum who (somewhat bizarrely) thought Richard’s name was Winter.
Red One isn’t perfect but it proves we need more action-packed Christmas movies
Scotland vs South Africa live stream: how to watch 2024 rugby union Autumn International online from anywhere
Anker Nebula Mars 3 review: A powerful and truly portable projector
