If you want to watch the Harry Potter movies in order on a streaming service, well, we've got bad news. Well, it's only bad news for some of you. We're back to having just one way to digitally board from Platform 9 3/4. The original eight films based on the seven Harry Potter books are no longer on the very best streaming service.
These movies, which brought in billions of dollars at the box office and made stars of a young cast, continue to jump between streaming services faster than you can perform Apparate. Oh, and the whole situation with the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs is similar, as they're all on that same streaming service.
The Harry Potter franchise starts with the eponymous hero at the age of 11, who discovers he's actually a wizard. He receives an invite to attend Hogwarts, under the guidance of kind Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. There, he makes friends, enters his teen years and hones his powers before facing off against the Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who killed his parents.
As the Harry Potter-verse has grown, so too has the number of streaming options. It can be confusing to figure out where to find the Harry Potter movies and whether to stream them by release date or by the chronological timeline. That's why we've put together this guide on how to watch the the Harry Potter movies in order.
Where to watch the Harry Potter movies in order
As of May 2023, you can only find all eight original Harry Potter movies streaming on HBO Max, the same place all three of the Fantastic Beasts movies are streaming. The films used to be on Peacock, but they've left last month.
On May 23rd, HBO Max will become Max, the location of the upcoming Harry Potter TV series.
Due to various rights issues, Peacock and HBO Max two streamers have traded the Harry Potter movie collection between them. Then, HBO Max got the rights, and the Peacock deal expired.
Harry Potter movies in order of release date
Watching the Harry Potter movies in release order is easy. The eight original movies came out first, then the Fantastic Beasts spinoffs.
Here's the list of films and the year of their theatrical release:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Stream onHBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 (2010)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)
Stream on HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube - Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)
Stream on: HBO Max
Rent/buy: Amazon | Apple | YouTube
Harry Potter movies in order of chronological events
Now, here's where things get slightly tricky. The Fantastic Beasts films are prequels, so they take place decades before the events of the original Harry Potter movies.
Those take place during Harry's time at Hogwarts, so each book/movie corresponds to a school year. The final two movies split the final book and school year.
Here's the list of Harry Potter movies and the year in which they are set:
- Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (1926)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (1927)
- Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (1930s)
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (1991-92)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1992-93)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (1992-94)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (1994-95)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (1995-96)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (1996-97)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (1997-98)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (1997-98)
Are the Harry Potter movies on Peacock or HBO Max?
Only HBO Max! At times, Peacock had the Harry Potter movies as an exclusive. Then HBO Max had them. Currently (as of May 10, 2023), only HBO Max is are streaming the Harry Potter movies including those Fantastic Beast films.
HBO Max streamed the Harry Potter movies when it launched in summer 2020. See, WarnerMedia owns the Harry Potter film franchise. However, the corporation sold the broadcast and cable (and streaming) rights to NBCUniversal, which owns Peacock. But WarnerMedia borrowed them back — likely for a hefty fee — so that its new streaming service could launch with some big titles.
Then, the Harry Potter movies moved back to Peacock, where they streamed on and off through 2021. They returned to HBO Max over the summer. In October, both streamers have them.
And then who knows what will happen in 2025, when NBCUniversal's TV rights lapse. Will they ever become the best Netflix movies? Only time will tell.
As writer Jess Mason joked on Twitter, "Harry Potter is like the child of a divorce where the parents are Universal and Warner Bros and the franchise just keeps being pulled to different homes."
So many streaming services, all fighting over the same valuable IP.
