The series has collectively grossed over $9.6 billion at the global box office, making it the fourth-highest-grossing film franchise of all time (behind the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man and Star Wars).

Many of the actors, including Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Helena Bonham Carter, Gary Oldman, Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, and Dan Fogler star in numerous films.

In October 1998, Warner Bros. purchased the film rights to the first four novels of the Harry Potter fantasy series by J. K. Rowling for a seven-figure sum,[8] after a pitch from producer David Heyman.

On 8 August 2000, the then-unknown Daniel Radcliffe and newcomers Rupert Grint and Emma Watson were selected to play Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, respectively.

[17] Warner Bros. had initially planned to release the film over 4 July 2001 weekend, making for such a short production window that several proposed directors removed themselves from consideration.

[18] Harry, Ron, and Hermione return to Hogwarts for their second year, but a mysterious chamber, hidden in the school, is opened leaving students and ghosts petrified by an unknown agent.

[25][26] A mysterious convict, Sirius Black, escapes from Azkaban and sets his sights on Hogwarts, where dementors are stationed to protect Harry and his peers.

[27] Warner Bros. then drew up a three-name short list for Columbus' replacement, which comprised Callie Khouri, Kenneth Branagh (who played Gilderoy Lockhart in Chamber of Secrets) and the eventual director Alfonso Cuarón.

[37] After the Quidditch World Cup, Harry arrives back at Hogwarts and finds himself entered in the Triwizard Tournament, a challenging competition involving completing three dangerous tasks.

[43] Goblet of Fire was the first film in the series to receive a PG-13 rating by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) for "sequences of fantasy violence and frightening images,"[44] M by the Australian Classification Board (ACB),[45] and a 12A by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) for its dark themes, fantasy violence, threat and frightening images.

He takes matters into his own hands and starts a secret organisation to stand up against the regime of Hogwarts' "High Inquisitor" Dolores Umbridge, as well as to learn practical Defence Against the Dark Arts (D.A.D.A) for the forthcoming battle.

During Slughorn's Potions class, Harry takes possession of a strangely annotated school textbook, previously owned by the "Half-Blood Prince".

[79] Harry, Ron, and Hermione leave Hogwarts behind and set out to find and destroy Lord Voldemort's secret to immortality – the Horcruxes.

[80] Originally scheduled for a single theatrical release, on 13 March 2008, Warner Bros. announced that the film adaptation of Deathly Hallows would be split into two parts to do justice to the book and out of respect for its fans.

[81] For the first time in the series, Rowling was credited as a producer alongside Heyman and Barron, however Yates noted that her participation in the filmmaking process did not change from the previous films.

[93] In 1926, Newt Scamander arrives in New York City with his magically expanded briefcase which houses a number of dangerous creatures and their habitats.

When some creatures escape from his briefcase, Newt must battle to correct the mistake, and the horrors of the resultant increase in violence, fear, and tension felt between magical and non-magical people (No-Maj).

[107] A few months after the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Gellert Grindelwald has escaped imprisonment and begins gathering followers for his cause – elevating wizards above all non-magical beings.

[110] Later that same month it was also announced that Albus Dumbledore would be appearing in future instalments, albeit with a younger actor for the prequel film series.

Originally scheduled to begin filming in July 2019, and released in November 2020, production was pushed back to late 2019 to allow more time polishing the script and plan the future of the series.

[134] In April 2022, Variety reported that Warner Bros. greenlighting the final two installments would be dependent on the critical and commercial performance of The Secrets of Dumbledore.

[144] TBS and Cartoon Network aired Harry Potter: Hogwarts Tournament of Houses on 28 November 2021 as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations.

It featured four episodes and was hosted by Helen Mirren and included Harry Potter cast members: Tom Felton, Simon Fisher-Becker, Shirley Henderson, Luke Youngblood, Matthew Lewis, along with other cameos like Pete Davidson and comedian Jay Leno.

The Harry Potter series is noted by audiences and critics for growing narratively complicated, visually darker and more mature as each film was released.

[273] On 20 December 2015, it was announced that Jamie Parker, Noma Dumezweni and Paul Thornley would play Harry Potter, Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley respectively.

The main purpose of the website was to allow the user to journey through the story with access to content not revealed by J. K. Rowling previously, with over 18,000 words of information on characters, places and objects in the Harry Potter universe.

[299][300] On 7 April 2016, The Wizarding World of Harry Potter opened at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park near Los Angeles, California.

Similar to its counterpart in London, the 30,000 square-meter attraction in Tokyo will offer visitors a walking tour through some of the recreated famous film sets including the Great Hall, the Forbidden Forest, and the Diagon Alley.

[307] The Harry Potter Shop at Platform 9 3/4 opened on 14 December 2012 and is located in King's Cross Station, London and next to it there is an opportunity to take a photo at the trolley.

[308][309] The Harry Potter Shop in Gatwick Airport, England is located in its North Terminal and the store covers 614 square feet.