The Christmas TV season is now very much upon us, and a common question on many lips is where the Harry Potter movies can be found.
Though the wizarding series isn’t explicitly a Christmas story, the majority of the movies were released around this time of year.
In later years, they have become staple viewing for families up and down the UK (and around the world) as December 25 draws closer and closer.
Each of the films, based on books written by author JK Rowling, also featured extended Christmas sequences, complete with massive feasts and knitted Weasley gifts.
So, where can the Harry Potter movies and Fantastic Beasts films be found on streaming services this Christmas?
Where can you watch the Harry Potter movies?
Like most big movie franchises these days, streaming services will be your first port of call when sitting down to watch your favourite Christmas flicks.
All eight of the Harry Potter movies can be rented on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube, and the Sky Store for the price of £3.49.
The Fantastic Beasts films, three of which have been released to date, are all available on the same streaming services for the same price of £3.49.
Sadly, it looks like the Harry Potter films won’t be available to watch on free-to-air TV. In the last few years, Sky Cinema has exclusively shown the films.
ITV used to broadcast all eight of the films throughout the Christmas period, but since 2019, that unfortunately hasn’t been the case.
Another option would be to buy the physical copies of the films, either on DVD or Blu-ray, from your nearest media and entertainment retailer.
What order should you watch in?
The recommended order for watching each of the Harry Potter movies would be the order of release, beginning with 2001’s The Philosopher’s Stone.
The Chamber of Secrets, The Prisoner of Azkaban, The Goblet of Fire, The Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2 would therefore follow, going in the same order as the seven books (the last of which was split into two movies).
With regards to the Fantastic Beasts films, the Eddie Redmayne-starring series would be best viewed after each of the Harry Potter films.
However, it’s important to note that the story of Fantastic Beasts takes place decades before the events of the Harry Potter series, which means they could technically be watched beforehand if you’d rather going in the story’s chronological order.
The Fantastic Beasts films do contain characters who feature prominently in the Harry Potter series, such as Albus Dumbledore.
We would recommend watching all eight Harry Potter films before watching the three Fantastic Beasts films, which were all released from 2016 onwards.
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