Every year, when the weather gets colder and leaves turn yellow, the Wizarding World of Harry Potter is all I can think about. Ever since I first read the series, I’ve connected the story to autumn, back to school, and cold October nights. Coming off my most recent rewatch of the eight movies, I decided to rank each movie from least favorite to most favorite on how enjoyable they are to me. Before we get into it, I must say that this is my opinion, and even the movies at the bottom of the ranking are very beloved to me.I don’t think they are awful movies; they just don’t compare to the ones that I truly do believe are cinematic masterpieces. With that out of the way, let’s get to the rankings.
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
At the bottom of my list, I have the first movie. I absolutely adore it, and the nostalgia I feel when watching is unmatched elsewhere. However, this movie feels slow to me and rightfully so because its main job is to set this complicated story and world up. As a self-certified Harry Potter expert, it’s hard for me to sit down and enjoy watching the exposition again when I just want to get to the juicy parts. Of course, I will never skip this movie in my rewatch, and I find myself sometimes wanting to watch it purely out of nostalgia and the childhood comfort that it brings me every time.
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Next on my list I have Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. This movie, to me, is just another hard watch every time for several reasons. While I love the book, the movie is kind of underwhelming, especially when it comes to the Triwizard Tournament. I dislike how little screentime the other schools, Durmstrang and Beaubaxtons, are given in the movie because they hold much more power in the novels. Of course, I still love this movie, especially since it is the first movie that brings in the drama and darkness.
6. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
At the sixth spot, I have Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. This one is down here for similar reasons as Sorcerer’s Stone. This movie, while certainly nostalgic and comfy, is also mainly focused on exposition, so it gets a bit boring at times for me. It’s higher up, however, because I love the side plots of this movie: the polyjuice potion, Moaning Myrtle, and, of course, Dobby. It’s definitely a more enjoyable movie to watch than Sorcerer’s Stone and Goblet of Fire, in my opinion.
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part One
This is when the ranking starts to get difficult because all of the movies from here on out are truly some of my favorite movies of all time. I put Deathly Hallows Part One down here because, simply compared to the other movies on this list, I enjoy it the least. I think it goes back to that exposition point I made earlier, as this movie is truly the introduction of rising action that is then followed by Deathly Hallows Part Two. So this movie, while definitely interesting and fun to watch, is basically just setting up the final battle, so for that reason, I have to put it down here.
4. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The first movie in the top half of the ranking is Order of the Phoenix. If you had asked me to do this ranking even just a few years ago, this one would’ve held the number one spot, but since then, I’ve changed my feelings on it just a bit. I absolutely love this movie, especially because of Dumbledore’s Army, which has to be one of my favorite side plots of all the movies. Watching Harry teach his fellow students how to defend themselves and stand up against one of the worst characters in the entire series, Dolores Umbridge, is absolutely incredible every single time. This is also the movie that introduces my favorite character of the entire series, Luna Lovegood, which is also why it’s higher up on my list.
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part Two
Taking the bronze medal on my list is the final movie of the series. I really enjoy watching Deathly Hallows Part Two every single time. The drama, the fighting, the tension, the ending, every single aspect of this movie not only keeps me on the edge of my seat, no matter how many times I watch it, but it also reminds me why I became a fan of this series in the first place. The only reason that this movie isn’t higher is because of how sad it makes me with all the deaths of some of my favorite characters; therefore, it will sit comfortably at the third spot.
2. Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince
Second place is going to the sixth movie, Half-Blood Prince. This movie isn’t popular amongst other fans, but personally I LOVE this movie so much. There is so much in this movie that I consider to be my favorite moments of the entire series, like the Pensive, Harry and Ginny’s relationship, Slughorn, and of course, the Half-Blood Prince plotline. This movie sets up the end of the series in a way that always makes me dive deeply into the Wizarding World. I also think that it gives so much content when it comes to Snape, Draco, and the Death Eaters, as well as completely changing what we thought we knew about certain characters. This movie also introduces the Horcruxes, which is another one of my favorite elements of the series.
1. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Lastly, my favorite Harry Potter movie is one hundred percent, Prisoner of Azkaban. I genuinely consider this movie to be perfect. Everything from the cinematography to the relationship between Sirius and Harry comes together to create a masterpiece. There is truly nothing better than sitting on your couch on a cold autumn night, underneath a thick blanket with a warm cup of cocoa, watching Prisoner of Azkaban. I’m also a huge fan of the Marauders– James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew– so of course, I am very partial to the movie that introduces them and their magnum opus, The Marauders Map. Prisoner of Azkaban is the best movie by far, in my opinion, and it is always the one that I look forward to the most during my HP rewatches.
Harry Potter has been my favorite series for as long as I can remember, and I adore every single aspect of it, well, except the obvious. These movies are perfect in my eyes, and every time I meet someone who’s never watched them, I’m quick to rope them into a movie marathon. These eight movies fill me with so much joy, nostalgia, and comfort, and I can only hope to one day write something that makes people as happy as these movies and novels have made me since my childhood.