Harry Potter movies in order: How to watch the wizarding world franchise

The chronological sequence of movies released in the world of Harry Potter deviates from their release order. Three movies under the Fantastic Beasts series were released five years after the final Harry Potter film. These three films serve as a prequel to the main series, set about 70 years before the events of Harry Potter. But whether you are new to the Harry Potter series or revisiting it, we recommend watching the movies in the following order for a more enriching and emotionally engaging experience.

Harry Potter movies in chronological order

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016)

In the first Fantastic Beasts movie, we follow magizoologist Newt Scamander and his escapades while trying to capture escaped mystical creatures and ensure the secrecy of the wizarding world stays intact. He has to take on Percival Graves, director of the Magical Society of America, and the main villain Gellert Grindelwald. The story is set in 1926.

• Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Ezra Miller, Colin Farrell, Johnny Depp
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 7.2
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (2018)

Continuing the 2016 movie, here we have Grindelwald trying to come in contact with Credence Barebones and also convince the magical society of the threat of non-magis to the whole world. Newt Scamander and his magical creatures are also present here since this is a sequel story. At one point, to guide him, we come across the young Dumbledore.

• Cast: Eddie Redmayne, Johnny Depp, Jude Law, Ezra Miller, Zoë Kravitz, Callum Turner, Claudia Kim
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 6.5
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022)

Dumbledore is back to stop his once-upon-a-time friend-turned-rival rival Grindelwald. On the way, you would learn some secrets or details about his life and family. To soup up the story, political turmoil and relationship tensions are included. Oh, the cute creatures of protagonist Newt Scamander are also sprinkled in as per the plot’s convenience. The Secrets of Dumbledore also saw Johnny Depp being replaced with Mads Mikkelsen as Grindelwald.

• Cast: Jude Law, Mads Mikkelsen, Eddie Redmayne, Ezra Miller, Callum Turner
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 6.2
• Where to watch it: Apple TV

Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)

This movie sets the stage for Harry’s magical journey. Harry’s parents were dead when he was just a baby. Since then, he has been living with his heartless uncle and aunty in their house in “the cupboard under the stairs”. One day, Harry gets an invite to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on his 11th birthday. That’s when he learns he is a wizard. He escapes from his cruel relatives and on his way to Hogwarts, he meets Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger who becomes his best friends in the course of this story. He reaches Hogwarts and we witness its majestic and mystical world, its rules, mysteries, and lore. One of these mysteries is The Sorcerer’s Stone, which Harry and his new friends have to protect from getting into the hands of none other than He Who Must Not Be Named, who is yet to take his full form in the first film. 

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Richard Harris, Ian Hart
• Director: Chris Columbus
• IMDb rating: 7.6
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)

The second movie in the Harry Potter series starts with Harry being back at his uncle and aunt’s place during vacation. On the last day of his stay there, he gets a surprise visit from a creature called Dobby who warns Harry about the chamber of secrets. Harry forgets that as soon as he returns to Hogwarts. However, he and his friends find some mysterious incidents and following the breadcrumbs, they end up in the Chamber of Secrets and fight the main villain. The story also includes giant spiders, snakes and various magical elements.

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Richard Harris, Christian Coulson
• Director: Chris Columbus
• IMDb rating: 7.4
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)

The third movie in the Harry Potter franchise revolves around a notorious wizard named Sirius Black who has escaped the Azkaban prison. Harry learns he was once a friend of his parents but cheated on them and joined Lord Voldemort. We will learn about his true intentions and stumble upon new wizards, magic, and other McGuffins. 

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon
• Director: Alfonso Cuarón
• IMDb rating: 7.9
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)

Things get even more serious in the fourth Happy Potter film. Harry finds himself unwillingly part of the Triwizard Tournament, the biggest magical tournament in the wizarding world that sees witches and wizards from other schools compete as well. The bulk of the movie is centred around the challenges of the Triwizard Tournament. He befriends new characters, loses some close friends, and stands face-to-face with the biggest threat to the wizarding world. 

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Robert Pattinson, Ralph Fiennes
• Director: Mike Newell
• IMDb rating: 7.7
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)

Harry is visited by the Order of the Phoenix, whose members also include Sirius Black. Black tells Harry that the Ministry of Magic doesn’t officially believe in the return of Voldemort so this new group led by Dumbledore would secretly work to unearth the truth and stop the lord of dark magic. Meanwhile, a faction of the Ministry is working for the evil side and they try to get hold of Hogwarts too. Harry is tasked to create an army for Dumbledore to take on Voldemort, which sets the story for the fifth movie in the Harry Potter series.

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 7.5
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)

In the penultimate year of his studies at Hogwarts, Harry Potter finds a book that once belonged to someone named Half-Blood Prince. Harry doesn’t know who the Half-Blood Prince is but gets deeply influenced by the powerful spells written in it. In the meantime, Dumbledore takes Harry to find out more about Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. The journey in the sixth Harry Potter movie is full of fantasy and revelations that set the stage for the final two films.

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Gary Oldman, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 7.7
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010)

By the end of the last movie, Voldemort has become highly powerful, so Harry and his friends must find ways to stop him. They learn his power resides in 3 objects, together called the Deathly Hallows. We learn about the origins of the Deathly Hallows and meanwhile, Harry and his friends have to escape Death Eaters and other bandits sent by Voldemort. Harry and his friends must also find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes to weaken Voldemort. The seventh movie in the Harry Potter universe ventures into darker territories and greater challenges as Harry gets closer to facing off against He Who Must Not Be Named.

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Rhys Ifans
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 8.1
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)

It’s time for the showdown between Harry Potter and Voldemort. In the final Harry Potter movie, we learn more than one way Voldemort’s powers are connected to Harry’s. Will Harry be the one to stop the lord of dark magic for one and all? At one point, when all hope is lost, would everyone bow down to the evil forces or will things like goodness, love, friendship, and courage prevail? Watch to find out. 

• Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Alan Rickman, Robbie Coltrane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis
• Director: David Yates
• IMDb rating: 8.1
• Where to watch it: JioCinema

Harry Potter movies by their release date

FAQs

Who are the lead actors in Harry Potter movies?

Daniel Radcliffe plays Harry Potter, Rupert Grint plays Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson plays Hermione Granger.

Will there be a Fantastic Beasts 4?

Due to the poor audience reception of the previous Fantastic Beasts movies, there may not be another Fantastic Beasts movie, although J K Rowling had envisioned 5 instalments at one point.

What is the story of The Boy Who Lived? Is it connected to the Harry Potter franchise?

The Boy Who Lived is about the life of David Holmes, who was the stunt double for Daniel Radcliffe in the Harry Potter movies. After a life-changing accident in 2010, he got paralyzed and this HBO documentary shows how David’s life isn’t defined by this tragedy. It releases on Max on November 15th. 

What do we know about the Harry Potter TV series?

Warner Bros is reportedly in plans to reboot the Harry Potter story in the form of a TV show on Max. The company has already announced the same through a tweet. But, not much is known at the moment.

What is Harry Potter The Cursed Child?

It is a two-part play written by J K Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany. It takes place 19 years after the incidents of the main series and is centred around Harry (who is an employee at the Ministry of Magic now) and his son Albus Severus Potter. His son and Scorpius Malfoy (son of Draco Malfoy) are friends and they accidentally alter the past using a device called Time Turner. The story deals with the consequences of this action and the personal conflicts associated with it.