The Harry Potter and Wizarding World franchise is one of those cultural forces that feels like it transcends its source material, evolving into a full-blown pop-culture phenomenon. It’s hard to make that claim for many other franchises — maybe Star Wars comes close — but even then, comparisons are tricky. If you’re new to the series (where have you been?) or gearing up for a rewatch ahead of the HBO TV series reboot, here are our picks for the best Harry Potter and Wizarding World movies.
What are the best Wizarding World and Harry Potter movies?
Before we get into it, these picks are entirely subjective. Harry Potter movies can be somewhat personal to people, so if you’re a longtime fan with strong opinions, note this list comes from another longtime fan with strong opinions. Really, you could swap out any movie for any of these on the list. The Harry Potter Films, in particular, are all very good.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II (2011)
Starting off with a personal favorite, which also happens to be the highest-rated Harry Potter film on Rotten Tomatoes, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II brings us the epic conclusion to the decade-long saga. Picking up where Part I left off, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Hermione (Emma Watson), and Ron (Rupert Grint) continue their search for Voldemort’s remaining Horcruxes. It all leads to a final, spectacular battle at Hogwarts where the forces of good and evil collide.
Directed by David Yates and written by Steve Kloves, the 2011 finale features exceptional visual effects, an unbeatable score by Alexandre Desplat, and a few sequences that will have you in tears.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I (2010)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I picks up after the events of Half-Blood Prince (spoiler: Dumbledore is dead). Snape (Alan Rickman) is now headmaster of Hogwarts, and Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters are at the height of their power. Harry, Ron, and Hermione have little more than the knowledge that they must find and destroy Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Along the way, they also uncover the legend of the Deathly Hallows, powerful objects that, when united, are said to give the owner the ability to conquer death.
This is the first film in the series to really leave the familiar halls of Hogwarts behind. In doing so, the childhood we knew and loved is completely gone, and the trio is on a mission in the real world, marked by dark magic. With a darker tone, the movie takes a quiet, more desaturated cinematic approach to storytelling. Director David Yates described this as more of a “road-movie,” which gave us more focus on the characters than the action. There are some truly beautiful moments in the film that feel like we’re growing up and experiencing loss along with the characters. Among these is one of our personal favorite sequences, set to Nick Cave’s haunting O Children.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2008)
One of this writer’s favorite books in the series, Half-Blood Prince, starts us off at the beginning of a Hogwarts school year. But things are darker than ever, even after getting rid of Dolores Umbridge. The students are older, and Draco Malfoy (Tom Felton) is brooding, more isolated, and definitely up to something. Early on, we find out he’s been tasked with killing Dumbledore (Michael Gambon). Meanwhile, Dumbledore takes Harry on some intense missions as they begin tracking down what we learn is a Horcrux. Without giving away the whole movie, it all leads to a heartbreaking finale on the astronomy tower.
Even with all the dread, there’s a lot of lightness in this film. During a full-series marathon before the premiere of Deathly Hallows: Part II, this one felt the most comedic to me (and to my fellow die-hard Potterhead audience, judging from the amount of laughter). Daniel Radcliffe, who we mostly knew as the more serious Harry, gets some moments to shine in quiet, comedic glory.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)
Though it’s debatable whether this is the “best” by critics’ standards, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone introduced us to a magical world and gave us the iconic actors we came to know, love, and grow up with. It also gave us the latest multi-memed chess scene. Truly, the Harry Potter pop culture references keep on giving.
Directed by Chris Columbus, the story begins on the night a young Harry is orphaned and left in the care of his dreadful relatives, the Dursleys. But this magical child survived the killing curse that no one else had, which gave him the title of The Boy Who Lived. Fast forward to an almost 11-year-old Harry, still mistreated by his aunt, uncle, and cousin, when he begins showing signs of his extraordinary abilities. On his birthday, he learns he is a wizard and has been accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
At Hogwarts, Harry quickly finds his place, befriending Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Together, the trio navigates magical classes, explores the castle’s hidden corners and moving stairwells, and gets into plenty of mischief along the way. But as the year unfolds, they also stumble upon dark secrets, including the mystery of the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2018)
This won’t be every Wizarding World fan’s favorite pick, but Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is hard not to love, thanks largely to Eddie Redmayne as our lead, Newt Scamander. The fantastic beasts are also ridiculously cute, the soundtrack is gorgeous, and the movie expands the magic in ways the earlier Harry Potter films never did. On my most recent Harry Potter series rewatch, it sometimes feels like students spend years in magic school only to use the same few over and over. But in Fantastic Beasts, the magic feels fully alive, far beyond a levitation charm, a polyjuice potion, or a disarming spell. Hopefully, we’ll see more of that in the TV series.
As far as the plot goes, Fantastic Beasts starts us off in 1920s New York, when an introverted Newt Scamander’s magical creatures escape from his suitcase, creating chaos across the city. Along with his new human friend Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler), whom he met with a comedic switch of suitcases, Newt sets off to round them up. But as he navigates the American wizarding world, he also uncovers a dark, energetic force threatening both magical and non-magical people. Along the way, Newt teams up with new allies, including an ex-auror Porpentina Goldstein (played by Katherine Waterston) and her sister Queenie (Alison Sudol), to track down the magical creatures and stop the dark forces threatening to expose the magical world.
How we picked the best Wizarding World and Harry Potter movies
You really can’t go wrong with any of the Harry Potter films. Though, admittedly, the Fantastic Beasts series started to lose some of its magic after the first installment. For our list, we looked at a mix of critical reception, audience response, rewatchability factor, and the impact each film had on the franchise as a whole.
