All 8 ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Added to HBO Max in Last-Minute Deal

Harry Potter movies? On my HBO Max? It’s more likely than you think.

In a last-minute move, HBO Max has all eight Harry Potter films, plus Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald available to stream in time for launch day today. It’s a welcome surprise for subscribers and Potter fans alike.

Despite the fact that the Harry Potter films are a Warner Bros. franchise, and despite the fact that HBO Max is a Warner Media company, Potter-heads didn’t expect to see The Boy Who Lived on HBO Max. That’s because Universal nabbed the exclusive digital and on-air rights to the franchise back in 2018. (That’s why you always see the Harry Potter films on the SYFY channel these days!) That deal was supposed to be good until 2025, but, apparently, HBO Max pulled a last-minute maneuver to secure the streaming rights to everyone’s favorite wizard boy.

You can also watch the second film in the Potter spin-off franchise, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, as that film was already streaming on HBO before HBO Max launched.

No word yet on how much this move cost HBO Max, or when the deal was made, but HBO content chief Kevin Reilly recently told Business Insider, “We’re closing deals every week,” and mentioned that the Potter films were “high on our priority list.” It seems “high priority” meant “first priority.”

Last week HBO Max shocked the internet by announcing it would “#ReleasetheSnyderCut” in 2021, aka a director’s cut of the 2017 film Justice League. Details are still coming together, but the cut could reportedly be released as a four-hour film in six chapters and would involve director Zach Snyder and his crew adding new VFX, score, and re-editing the film. Sources said that process would cost between $20 and $30 million. A week later, Head of HBO Max Bob Greenblatt hinted in an appearance on the Recode Media podcast that the cost of the #SnyderCut was actually much higher.

In other words, HBO Max is betting on the power of fandom with both Harry Potter and Justice League. Only time will tell whether these costly moves will pay off. But in the meantime… Harry Potter marathon, anyone?

Watch Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 on HBO Max

Watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 on HBO Max