From the 1997 novel and 2001 first film through Deathly Hallows and Fantastic Beasts, the Harry Potter movies became one of cinema's defining franchises. This timeline follows production, each release, the two-part finale, and the Wizarding World expansion.
Bloomsbury publishes J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter novel in the UK on 26 June 1997.
Warner Bros. locks up film rights; producer David Heyman begins building the franchise at Leavesden.
Principal photography for the first film starts at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire in September 2000.
Chris Columbus's first film opens widely on 16 November 2001 and becomes a global box-office phenomenon.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets arrives on 15 November 2002, again directed by Chris Columbus.
Alfonso Cuaron's darker third film opens in the U.S. on 4 June 2004.
Mike Newell directs the fourth film, released 18 November 2005, as the series shifts to PG-13 stakes.
David Yates begins his four-film run with Order of the Phoenix on 11 July 2007.
Warner Bros. confirms the final novel will be two features, filmed back-to-back.
After a controversial delay from late 2008, Half-Blood Prince opens on 15 July 2009.
Part 1 opens 19 November 2010 as Harry, Ron, and Hermione hunt Horcruxes outside Hogwarts.
Reshoots wrap on 21 December 2010, ending roughly a decade of continuous Harry Potter production.
Part 2 opens 15 July 2011, closing the eight-film arc with the Battle of Hogwarts and a $1.3B global gross.
The original eight films finish as one of the highest-grossing series ever, about $7.7 billion worldwide.
Universal's Diagon Alley expansion at Orlando deepens the theme-park life of the film franchise.
The first Fantastic Beasts prequel opens 18 November 2016, launching the wider Wizarding World film brand.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald arrives 16 November 2018.
The full original series is available on HBO Max at the service's 27 May 2020 launch.
Cast and crew reunite for the HBO Max special Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens 15 April 2022 as the third prequel.
Warner Bros. schedules all eight films back in theaters for a late-summer 2026 25th-anniversary window.