Release OrderRecommended
0 / 11 watchedThe order the films actually came out. Watch all eight Harry Potter films first, then the three Fantastic Beasts prequels.
Harry Potter
- 1 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 2 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 3 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 4 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 5 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- 6 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- 7 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- 8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Fantastic Beasts
- 9 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
- 10 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
- 11 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Latest released film. No further Beasts films are currently in production.
Chronological Order
0 / 11 watchedThe in-universe timeline. The three Beasts films sit about 70 years before Harry starts at Hogwarts.
- 1 Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Set in 1926.
- 2 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Set in 1927.
- 3 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore Set in the early 1930s.
- 4 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
- 5 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
- 6 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
- 7 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
- 8 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
- 9 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
- 10 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
- 11 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
About Harry Potter
Harry Potter follows the young wizard Harry through seven years at Hogwarts as he learns magic and faces Voldemort, told across eight films released from 2001 to 2011. Fantastic Beasts is a prequel series set in the 1920s and 1930s, following magizoologist Newt Scamander and a young Albus Dumbledore during the rise of Grindelwald.
The two series were made a decade apart and assume you already know the world. Fantastic Beasts also ends mid-story, since the planned fourth and fifth films were parked after the third underperformed, so treat it as a bonus rather than the main event.
Good to know
Release order is the right first watch. The Beasts films spoil almost nothing about Harry's story, but Harry's films give every Beasts cameo and callback its meaning. Chronological order only pays off on a rewatch.
HBO is producing a full reboot series, one season per book, with season 1 set to premiere Christmas Day 2026. Once it airs, this guide will need a new section for it.
