If there’s one franchise engraved so deeply in the childhood of most Millennials, it’s certainly Harry Potter. This magical movie franchise accompanied us through our childhood, teenage years, and even through young adulthood — there’s no denying its impact on our lives and on pop culture at large. Consisting of eight movies, the Harry Potter franchise gave us a decade of movies that a lot of us still return to today.
Speaking with Variety recently, HBO Max’s Head of Originals Sarah Aubrey teased the possibility of a Harry Potter series exclusive to the streamer. Additionally, Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav is also pushing for a movie adaptation of the play, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. It seems like we won’t be leaving the wizarding world for quite a while, and we couldn’t be more excited. While we wait, let’s a take a look at all the eight Harry Potter movies and how they rank according to Rotten Tomatoes score.
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8 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010) — 77%
Warner Bros.
Despite being the third-highest-grossing film of 2010, it’s no surprise that the seventh installment in the franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1, ranks lowest with a 77% Rotten Tomatoes score. Choosing to split the final book into two movies was a bold move by David Yates. In this movie, we follow the Golden Trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione as they embark on a mission that Dumbledore sent Harry on before his death in The Half-Blood Prince to locate all the remaining Horcruxes. We completely abandon the walls of Hogwarts and see our heroes travel all across England in an attempt to escape Death Eaters and find clues to completely destroy parts of Voldemort’s soul. The movie is slower-paced than you’d expect for a penultimate installment and the action isn’t as grand. Indeed, The Deathly Hallows - Part 1 was more or less a set-up for the final movie.
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7 Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix (2007) — 78%
Warner Brothers
Yet again directed by David Yates, Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix’s ranking as the second-highest-grossing movie of 2007 wasn’t enough to keep it from losing $167 million and earning a 78% on Rotten Tomatoes. The fifth installment centres around Harry and his friends per usual, but this time with the Ministry praying for his downfall. Given how Harry was the only one to witness Voldemort’s great return in the previous film, everyone outside of his circls is denial of it being true. They change the leadership at Hogwarts with one of the most annoying characters in film history, Dolores Umbridge. Since the new curriculum forbids them from learning fighting spells, Harry forms his own club — Dumbledore’s Army — where he teaches students some useful spells. The Order of the Phoenix significantly introduces us to Sirius as a father-figure for Harry, and then gruesomely takes him away. The movie is an emotional rollercoaster to say the least.
6 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) — 81%
The film to open the franchise and capture viewers’ hearts, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, was handed director Chris Columbus — and he did an amazing job with it, earning a solid 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. The casting process itself had to be challenging. Not only were they looking for child actors to perfectly capture the essence of the characters, but they also had to do justice to the books themselves in order to continue adapting the film. The Sorcerer’s Stone introduced Harry to the world of magic, as well as its audience. It still carried the innocent child-like vibe despite the deadly threats of Voldemort that couldn’t be left out of the story. Even 21 years later, the movie still makes money at the box office, grossing around $1 billion.
5 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) — 82%
Warner Bros. Pictures
Columbus continued as the director for the second installment, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, as well. With the longest runtime in the whole franchise, the second movie became the second-highest-grossing movie of 2002. The plot follows Harry and his friends in the second year of their studies at Hogwarts as they face yet another deadly threat. The heir of Salazar Slytherin opens the Chamber of Secrets, unleashing a monster that petrifies school students and is mostly after the wizards with non-magical parents. Overall, The Chamber of Secrets was praised for taking a darker turn while still managing to keep the plot appropriate for younger audiences. It scored 82% on Rotten Tomatoes.
4 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) — 84%
Yates didn’t hold back as he made the most expensive film in the series: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. After the events of The Order of Phoenix, the Golden Trio was approached more maturely, and the story itself focused on the hormonal teenage years of our youth. While, of course, dealing with the threat of Voldemort and getting his hands on a mysterious book, Harry also juggles his romantic life and the regular teenage problems that most of us have dealt with. The tricky relationship between Harry and Dumbledore is explored more closely as they try to find the key to Voldemort’s downfall. The Half-Blood Prince also heavily focuses on Snape as a character. With its exploration of love triangles, grief and betrayal, the movie was praised for its emotional weight, scoring 84% on Rotten Tomatoes.
3 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005) — 88%
The only film in the franchise directed by Mike Newell is no other than Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This is the movie where we truly start seeing the tone of the series switch from being a kid-friendly narrative to something darker and more sinister. The plot follows Harry in his fourth year at Hogwarts and his accidental participation in The Triwizard Tournament. We’re introduced to new three-dimensional characters such as Barty Crouch Jr, Cedric Diggory, and Alastor Moody. With its maturity, sophistication, story, tone, and screenplay, it’s no wonder the movie falls into the top three highest-reviewed movies in the Harry Potter franchise, with a staggering 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
2 Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) — 90%
Alfonso Cuarón was selected as the director for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and, with a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, it was probably the best decision the franchise ever made. Harry’s third year at Hogwarts is accompanied by his desire to find out more information about his past due to the escape of the titular prisoner Sirius Black from Azkaban, and his connection to Harry’s late parents, as well as a new professor, Remus Lupin. Both Cuarón’s direction and actors’ performances were praised, and the film is often named by both critics and fans as the best movie in the franchise. We’re introduced to the backstory of The Marauders, which is often a sub-plot of the wizarding world that is desired to be explored in more detail by the fanbase.
1 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011) — 96%
It’s somewhat surprising that the last movie of the franchise, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2, is also the highest-reviewed one, sitting at a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s usually not the case with young-adult franchises like these. However, Yates managed to finish the series with a bang. Harry, Hermione, Ron, and all of Hogwarts get together to destroy the final Horcruxes and get rid of Lord Voldemort once and for all. It is currently the highest-grossing film in the Harry Potter series, with over $1.3 billion grossed worldwide. It was praised for the acting, Yates’ directon, the action sequences, the score, and for a satisfying conclusion of the saga.
