Watching the Harry Potter movies in order is quite the undertaking. Featuring eight movies set at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as the three (to date) films in the Fantastic Beasts prequel saga, there's more than enough magic here to create a marathon viewing experience.
And while the comparatively disappointing box office performance of the Fantastic Beasts movies has seemingly prompted the spin-off series' premature demise, there's still more Wizarding World adventures on the horizon. Not only is stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child a hit on both Broadway and in London's West End, but Warner Bros' in-house streaming service Max has announced a new, epic TV adaptation of JK Rowling's bestselling novels, spread over an entire decade.
If you want to know how to watch all 11 Harry Potter movies in order, you've apparated to the right place. Even those with a passing knowledge of the series probably know that Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the UK) kicks things off. The following seven films (one's a two-parter) continue to follow Harry and his friends' adventures at Hogwarts.
This guide explains how to watch the Harry Potter movies in order, both chronologically and as they were released. We also explain where you can stream the movies at home. (Need more help with sequencing a major movie franchise? See our how to watch the Star Wars movies in order and how to watch the Marvel movies in order guides).
Harry Potter movies in chronological order
Want to know how to watch the Harry Potter movies in chronological order, as well as the Fantastic Beasts prequel series? Allow us to steer you in the right direction.
There are eight Harry Potter films, and three instalments in the Fantastic Beasts saga to date, all set decades before Harry, Ron and Hermione's adventures at Hogwarts. The third instalment of that series, titled The Secrets of Dumbledore, is out now to watch on Max in the US, and is set in 1932,
Warner Bros originally planned to make five Fantastic Beasts saga movies, but more recent reports suggest the series has ended at the third instalment. The Secrets of Dumbledore was the lowest-grossing film of the entire Wizarding World franchise and had received mixed reviews, which could have contributed to the studio's decision if the rumors turn out to be true. (When asked about the future of the series, star Eddie Redmayne told NME in January 2023 that "there's nothing [planned] that I'm aware of.")
To keep things simple in the list below, we decided to just include everything Harry Potter-related that's available to watch right now – including the popular stage play, The Cursed Child.
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (set in 1926)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (set in 1927)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (set in 1932)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (set in 1991-92)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (set in 1992-93)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (set in 1992-94)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (set in 1994-95)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (set in 1995-96)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (set in 1996-97)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (set in 1997-98)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (set in 1997-98)
- Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (the hit stage play, set in 2017-2020)
Aside from the occasional flashback, the Hogwarts-set movies in the series follow a simple linear structure – mostly thanks to Rowling’s decision to use the British school calendar as a framework for her narrative. That means each of the seven books in the Potter series focus on a different school year (running from September to August), 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 the Harry Potter films some 70 years after their Fantastic Beasts counterparts.
And the boy wizard's story does continue beyond the final reckoning with Lord Voldemort – though not on screen – thanks to the hit stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The story picks up in 2017, during the epilogue from Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, and features the now grown-up Harry, Hermione, Ron and Draco Malfoy, and their kids.
Harry Potter movies in release order
There are no complicated interweaving timelines to deal with if you watch the Potter movies in release date order. It’s two distinct series, with a set of prequels following on from the parent franchise. That means there’s no need to introduce any kind of Star Wars-style 'Machete Order' just yet.
It’s also interesting to note that there are more Harry Potter movies than there are books, with final novel The Deathly Hallows split into two parts (a trick repeated by both the Twilight and The Hunger Games series) because there was so much story to fit in. Also, all the extra box office cash earned by an extra movie won't have hurt Warner's bottom line.
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Harry Potter movies: where to watch online
Since May, the streaming home of the Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts movies in the US has been Max. While that's far from unexpected – Max owner Warner Bros Discovery is always going to want to keep its crown jewels in house – this is unlikely to be the case indefinitely. Thanks to a deal signed between Warner and NBC media back in 2016, the American streaming rights for the Potter movies are shared between the two conglomerates – so don't be surprised to see Harry, Ron, Hermione and co heading back to Peacock in a few months' time.
There's good news for UK viewers, meanwhile. After a period when most of the magical saga was only available to rent via the likes of Amazon and iTunes, all eight Harry Potter movies are now available on Netflix. Netflix subscribers also have access to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, though you'll have to head to Sky Cinema to stream the most recent movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore – or rent the title on pay-per-view.
Netflix is also the place to go for Harry Potter in Australia, Japan and Italy. Read this article to find out more about how to watch Harry Potter movies online.
Every Harry Potter movie ranked
As with the Harry Potter books, opinions on which entries in the series are the best are varied and subjective. As a result, ranking the Harry Potter movies by their IMDb user scores reveals a remarkable consistency in fan response, with all eight instalments clustered between 7.4 and 8.1 out of 10. For our own opinion on this topic, see our in-depth article on the best Harry Potter movies ranked from worst to best.
The three Fantastic Beasts movies are noticeably the least loved releases spawned from JK Rowling's Wizarding World, a fact reflected by the second movie's near 20% drop at the box office compared to its predecessor, and the third film dropping off a further 38% after that (according to figures on Box Office Mojo).
The most successful of the three, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, made less money than all-but-one of the Potter movies (Prisoner of Azkaban). But, seeing as it had 12 years of inflation on its side, it’s debatable whether it actually outperformed the earlier film.
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 – 8.1
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban – 7.9
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – 7.7
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 – 7.7
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – 7.6
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince – 7.6
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – 7.5
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets – 7.4
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – 7.2
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald – 6.5
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore - 6.2
