Harry Potter Movies in Order

This list of movies chronicles the tale of Harry Potter during his seven years at Hogwarts, based on the best selling books of the same name by J.K. Rowling. Here are all the Harry Potter movies in order of release.

Out of the 8 movies that the Harry Potter franchise released, J.K. Rowling puts ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows’ as her favorite part out of all.

There are very few things in life that manage to capture the imagination of millions of people the world over, something that manages to instigate even the most incurious person into picking up a book just to fathom what all the fuss is about. What I am talking about is none other than the Harry Potter series. These books, written by well-known author J.K. Rowling, have managed to sell millions of copies and have become a worldwide phenomenon. The rights for the books were bought by Warner Brothers for one million pounds. J.K. Rowling insisted that when the movies are made, most of the cast comprises British actors.

The Harry Potter franchise is the most valuable out of all movie franchises in the world. Such was the success, that all the parts were box office hits and feature in the list of highest-grossing movies of all time. For all those that are new or who wish to know a little more about what happens in the movies, here is the list of Harry Potter movies in sequence.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone

The first part was released as ‘Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone’ in some parts of the world. It showed how Harry was ill-treated as a child at the Dursley’s household. Soon, a letter arrived for him informing him that he had been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Despite his uncle Vernon’s best efforts to deny him from going, Harry eventually went to Hogwarts, where he befriended Hermione and Ron. There Harry came to know more about his family and the evil wizard Lord Voldemort, who tried to kill him when he was a baby. This movie had the British elite as cast, with Alan Rickman brilliantly portraying the role of Professor Snape, while Richard Harris, who happened to be Irish, portrayed Albus Dumbledore.

The film did extremely well and ranks as the 20th highest -grossing film of all time. It is the second-most successful film of the Harry Potter franchise. It was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

The second film of the series, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets saw the main cast return to the set. This movie was once again directed by Chris Columbus. In the beginning, strange things start happening in Harry’s life. A small house elf called Dobby warns Harry to not go to Hogwarts. He fails to get onto the platform 9¾, and then flies his way to Hogwarts with his friend Ron in a car.

Tragedies start happening at Hogwarts, as people are petrified one by one, the last victim being Harry’s friend Hermione. Then, Harry, Ron, and their cowardly Professor Lockhart go to the Chamber of Secrets, where Voldemort, in the avatar of his teenage self Tom Riddle tries to kill Harry with a Basilisk. Harry manages to instead kill Tom by stabbing his diary, which is later revealed as being a horcrux.

This movie also opened to great reviews and was the second highest grossing film of 2002. It is the 33rd highest-grossing movie of all time. In 2003, it was nominated for 3 BAFTA Film Awards.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

The movies begin to get darker and scarier with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Harry is told that it was their parents’ friend, Sirius Black, who betrayed them and led them to Voldemort, and Sirius has now managed to escape from Azkaban and may be coming to look for Harry. He goes to Hogwarts, and on more than one occasion comes in contact with dementors. It is later revealed that Sirius was not the one who betrayed Harry’s parents, but it was Peter Pettigrew, who is in fact, Ron’s rat Scabbers.

This part saw the brilliant Gary Oldman step in as Sirius Black, David Thewlis as Remus Lupin, and Timothy Spall as Peter Pettigrew. There were many more special effects added in this movie.

This was the first Harry Potter movie to be released into IMAX theaters. It was nominated for Original Music Score and Visual Effects at the Academy Awards. However, it is in fact the lowest grossing movie of the Harry Potter series, but still the 44th highest-grossing film ever made.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

The part saw the young students entering puberty. This movie, despite being dark and very adventurous, was also quite lighthearted, and showed the hormonal side of the characters. Harry is chosen against his will to take part in a series of dangerous tasks as part of the Triwizard Tournament. He faces dragons, mermaids, and in the end, even a Sphinx. He comes to know in the end that it was all a ploy by the evil Barty Crouch junior, that is at Hogwarts in the guise of Mad Eye Moody. This movie for the first time shows the rise of Lord Voldemort in the human form.

This part saw the inclusion of two main new cast members―Robert Pattinson as the handsome Cedric Diggory (although Pattinson went onto find more fame in the Twilight series), and Ralph Fiennes as Lord Voldemort in flesh.

It won the BAFTA Award for Best Production Design, and was nominated at the Oscars for Best Production Design. The movie fared decently and is the 30th highest-grossing film of all time.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This part saw Harry return to fight Voldemort as a part of a new order. Lord Voldemort is after a prophecy which says that only one can survive, while the other lives. It is only in the end that the Wizarding World comes to terms with the fact that Lord Voldemort has returned. Sirius Black dies in the end of this movie.

This was once again a relatively lighthearted film and marked the entry of Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, and Imelda Staunton as Professor Umbridge.

This was the first Potter movie to be released in IMAX 3D. It was the 2nd highest-grossing movie of 2007, and is the 25th highest-grossing movie ever.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

This part got darker and introduces the concept of horcruxes, which are parts of Voldemort’s soul. This movie also showed Harry’s romantic inclination towards Ginny, Ron’s sister, and Hermione’s feelings for Ron. Draco Malfoy, played by Tom Felton, tries to plot ways to kill Dumbledore, but in the end it is in fact Professor Snape who kills Dumbledore. The move introduced Jim Broadbent as Professor Horace Slughorn.

This was actually the most positively reviewed film of the franchise. It was appreciated for its ’emotionally satisfying’ story, direction, visuals, cinematography, and music.

The film was nominated in the Best Cinematography category at the Oscars. It is the 27th highest-grossing movie ever.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1

The last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has been split into two parts, so as to make for more detailed viewing. After the death of Dumbledore, Harry is all set to go with Ron and Hermione to fetch the horcruxes. This move begins with the death of Mad Eye Moody, and eventually, after an interruption at Bill and Fleur’s wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out to look and destroy horcruxes. They do manage to destroy the locket, after Ron comes back to find and save Harry from being killed in a freezing pond. Dobby, the house elf, dies towards the end of the movie while trying to save Harry Potter.

The movie ended tantalizingly at the point where Lord Voldemort has procured the most powerful wand in the world―the Elder wand.

The film was nominated for Best Visual Effects and Best Art Direction at the Academy Awards. It is the 3rd most successful film of the franchise, and ranks as the 23rd highest-grossing film ever.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2

The last part picked up from where it left. Harry, Ron, and Hermione try and rob Gringotts bank and there is the final Hogwarts battle scene. Daniel Radcliffe said, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows I is so sedate compared to what the next one is going to be like. The next film, because you’ve had all the plot set up already, you can just kind of enjoy the insanity of all the action.” Voldemort announces the apparent death of Harry to everyone.

The final fight of Harry and Voldemort is Harry’s Disarming Charm which rebounds Voldemort’s own Killing Curse and obliterates him. Harry and Ginny Potter, Ron and Hermione Weasley, and Draco and Astoria Malfoy, all watch their own children with pride, leaving for Hogwarts.

This part was the last and the most successful in the series. The film was nominated for Best Art Direction, Best Makeup, and Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. It won the BAFTA award for Best Visual Effects. It ended up being the most successful film in the series, and has grossed $1.35 billion, making it the 4th highest-grossing film in the history of cinema.

The brand of Harry Potter is worth around $25 billion, where the movies alone have grossed over $7.5 billion at the box office. Not just that, but Rowling’s Harry Potter is ‘Entertainer of the Decade’, according to US magazine Entertainment Weekly.