GameSpot may receive revenue from affiliate partnerships and advertising for sharing this content and purchases through links.
While the franchise hasn’t changed much lately, the wizarding world of Harry Potter is a behemoth: we know everything about the boy wizard from reading the books or watching all the Harry Potter movies in order, or both. And at this point, it’s too big a part of our recent popular culture to disappear anytime soon, and even if we tried to forget it, author JK Rowling’s inflammatory and problematic comments would constantly bring it back to the forefront. But that’s a moot point: like DC, Marvel, and Star Wars, the Harry Potter franchise will likely be a part of our lives forever.
The Wizarding World imagines an alternate version of our own world, populated by magical creatures hiding in plain sight. As a generational saga, it explores a fascinating story told primarily from the perspective of a child who must come to terms with the fact that he is the beginning of the end of a very long drama that has been going on for decades before he was born. Harry and his friends Ron and Hermione must navigate extraordinary situations while the adults in their lives repeatedly use them as pawns in this larger wizarding conflict, something that children become increasingly aware of as they grow older. Each of the seven books tells the story of a school year at Hogwarts Academy of Magic, from the ages of 11 to 18.
The Harry Potter film franchise is currently in a lull, with the five-film Fantastic Beasts spinoff series on hold after three films. The only other Wizarding World film project on screen at the moment is the upcoming HBO series that will re-adapt the main book series. But that series is still in the early stages of development and could take several years to complete.
As of now, we're left with only the Harry Potter movies and the Fantastic Beasts series as the only film adaptations of this beloved franchise. So let's take a look at each of these movies, in the order they were released, and with all the information you need to know about where to find and stream them.