Watching the Harry Potter movies in order is the ultimate movie marathon, but choosing which order you want to enjoy them in is entirely up to you. Consisting of eight spellbinding films (11 if you include the Fantastic Beasts prequel series), JK Rowling's magical book series is brought to life on screen, and it'll take you just under 20 hours to complete. We're not suggesting you watch them all in one, but you can certainly try. The epic franchise follows boy wizard, Harry Potter, and his unusual adventures at the legendary Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Unbeknownst to him, at first, he's inexplicably linked to the Dark Lord, Voldemort, who is targeting Harry to put an end to a prophecy. Throw in the fact Harry's also trying to navigate growing up while juggling the life of a wizard, and it's a wonderfully mystifying experience.
In 2016, the magic began to extend beyond the original series to the Fantastic Beasts prequel saga, of which there's now three movies, and also the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. There's even a Harry Potter TV show slated to arrive in 2026 from Max, aka one of the world's best streaming services, with a magical creative duo on board to executive produce. In this guide, we’ll tell you how to stream the Harry Potter movies in order, both chronologically 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 the Harry Potter movies in chronological order – including the Fantastic Beasts prequel series and popular Broadway/West End stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Allow us to steer you in the right direction.
- 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 1993-94)
- 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)
The Fantastic Beasts prequel series is set many decades before Harry, Ron and Hermione's time at Hogwarts. Warner Bros. originally planned to make five Fantastic Beasts movies, but it now looks like 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 to Variety, it barely broke even at the box office. When asked about the series' future in October 2023, director David Yates told Total 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 the Harry Potter films some 60-70 years after their Fantastic Beasts counterparts in the Wizarding World canon.
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 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, as well as their kids.
How to watch the Harry Potter movies in release date order
There are no complicated interweaving timelines to deal with if you watch the Harry Potter movies 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 more Harry Potter movies than there are books, with Rowling's final novel, The Deathly Hallows, split 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 11 Harry Potter movies in release date order:
- 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)
Where to watch the Harry Potter movies in order
In the US, the movies are available on the Warner Bros. Discovery-owned Max. The eight Harry Potter films are also available on Peacock, 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 all 11 films of the Wizarding World adventure on Sky, Now TV, and Netflix.
If you're in Australia, it's slightly more complicated. You can watch all the Harry Potter movies on Netflix, Binge, Foxtel, and Stan. However, the Fantastic Beasts films are split between a few streamers. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is on Netflix and Stan, while The Crimes of Grindelwald is on Netflix, Foxtel, and Stan. And The Secrets of Dumbledore can be streamed on Foxtel and Stan, or bought through Apple TV Plus or Amazon Prime. 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 novels, fans tend to have different opinions on which films in the series are the best. Ranking the Harry Potter movies in order of 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 the best Harry Potter movies ranked, from worst to best).
The three Fantastic Beasts movies are clearly the least loved releases. Take their IMDb user scores in comparison to the original Harry Potter series – 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 the Harry Potter movies (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.
- 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 – 7.7
- 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
For more information on how to watch other film franchises, read our guides on how to watch the Marvel movies in order, how to stream the DC movies in order, how to watch the Batman movies in order, and how to stream the Spider-Man movies in order.
