20 Movies to Watch If You Love the Magic of "Harry Potter"
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Without a doubt, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley are one of the most iconic trios to ever exist in film history. Over eight fantastical films, we watched their adventures unfold in the halls of Hogwarts and streets of Surrey, from battling basilisks and three-headed dogs, to waltzing through the Great Hall at the Yule Ball, to facing the wicked ways of the Dark Lord. There’s a certain sadness that seeps in when the credits roll on the final film, and while you can go back to the beginning and rewatch the story of The Boy Who Lived (don’t forget the anniversary special) from the start, there are a number of movies like Harry Potter to watch that deliver the same whimsy and enchantment.
Whether you’re looking to step into another magical world or seek to solve a mystery, Potterheads, action-adventure fans, and overall movie lovers alike will find a film that’s perfect for a cinematic escape. So, if you’ve watched the reunion endless times, seen the Harry Potter flicks over and over, poured over the books year after year, or are just looking for something new, check out our list below. Here, we’ve rounded up all of the movies like Harry Potter on Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, and more.
The Magic Flute (2023)
While attending the prestigious Mozart boarding school with the goal of becoming a singer, a teen quickly discovers a secret passageway to a mystical world of Mozart's "The Magic Flute."
Fans of fantasy tales will love this movie starring Jack Wolfe from Shadow and Bone.
MORE: The Best New Teen Movies of 2023
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Upside-Down Magic (2020)
This DCOM is about two BFFs who discover they each possess magical powers: One can transform into animals while the other one is able to control fire. Their abilities allow them to enroll at Sage Academy, aka a fancy magic school.
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Ender's Game (2013)
While not about magic, Harry Potter fans will still love this sci-fi movie based on Orson Scott Card's book. Ender is sent to Battle School, a special place to hone his craft (like with Harry and Hogwarts) and study the art of space combat, along with his fellow cadets. The fate of humanity hangs in the balance if he's not successful.
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The Percy Jackson Movies (2010-2013)
Join teenage demigod Percy Jackson in both Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief and Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters as he comes to terms with who his father is and gets tangled up in a battle with the gods.
A new Percy Jackson TV series will premiere in 2024, starring The Adam Project's Walker Scobell as the title character.
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The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)
Before Alexander Ludwig was Cato in The Hunger Games, he starred in this fantasy movie about a kid who learns he's the final remaining member of a group of immortal warriors who've vowed to fight evil.
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The School for Good and Evil (2022)
Thanks to the movies, there's a school for pretty much anyone — and that includes fairy tale heroes and villains. In this Netflix film, two besties are sent to a special school and their friendship is quickly tested.
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The Kid Who Would Be King (2019)
After finding Excalibur, King Arthur's legendary sword, a boy goes on a life-changing quest to save the world.
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The House With a Clock in Its Walls (2018)
Based on John Bellairs's book of the same name — and the inspiration for the show Supernatural — The House With a Clock in Its Walls tells the story of Lewis Barnavelt, an orphan who goes to live with his eccentric uncle. While in his new home, Lewis discovers there's a clock hidden inside the walls (duh) that has the power to end the world.
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Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (2016)
Based on the best-selling Ransom Riggs novel of the same name, this Tim Burton-directed film chronicles the story of Jake, who winds up in a fantastical place known as Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. Protected by a time loop that has spanned decades, the students here boast magical oddities too extravagant for the outside world, such as invisibility and immense strength. Jake has yet to learn his own peculiarity, but soon realizes he’s meant to protect and keep his new home safe.
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Matilda (1996)
Matilda Wormwood is an extremely gifted, intelligent little girl, who is completely misunderstood by her car dealer father, Harry, and bingo-loving mother, Zinnia.
At school, evil Miss Trunchbull makes most days miserable. But Matilda possesses telekinesis, a unique superpower that lets her move and control objects with her mind. With the help of her gracious teacher Miss Honey, Matilda learns to sharpen her gift and take matters into her own hands.
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A Wrinkle In Time (2018)
In this Ava DuVernay-directed film, Meg, her brother Charles, and her school friend Calvin embark on an astral journey to find Meg and Charles’s astrophysicist father, Alex, who disappeared after discovering a new planet four years ago. Guided by three mystical beings, Mrs. Which, Mrs. Whatsit, and Mrs. Who, the three young explorers encounter mysterious individuals and face dangerous predicaments along the way.
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The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy (2005-2010)
There are seven novels in C.S. Lewis’s fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia, and three have been adapted for the silver screen — The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
The stories tell the tale of the Pevensie siblings: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Led by Aslan, the Great Lion and true king of the world of Narnia, the children plunge into adventures and face off against wicked rulers in this mystical land.
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Fantastic Beasts" Series (2016-2022)
We might not have more Harry Potter books to depict on the big screen (sigh), but thankfully, there’s a film series dedicated to a whole new era of the Wizarding World. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, based on J.K. Rowling’s book of the same name, set 70 years before Harry Potter’s time at Hogwarts, was released in 2016. The film chronicles the escapades of magizoologist Newt Scamander, as he discovered the wizard and witch community of New York.
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, released in 2018, depicts Newt and a young Albus Dumbledore teaming up to take down the dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald. The third installment, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — which hit theaters in April 2022 — follows their efforts as they build a team of witches and wizards.
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Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004)
The Baudelaire children, orphaned by a deadly fire, are sent to live with their closest relative, Count Olaf. Covering the stories of the first three books from Lemony Snicket’s series — The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, and The Wide Window — this Jim Carrey-led film recounts the turbulent adventures, and, well, unfortunate events, that ensue after the children are left in Olaf’s care.
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Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Shang-Chi is a master of martial arts who, at a young age, leaves his father, sister, and the entire life he knew behind after a traumatic incident. But when his past suddenly confronts him years later, Shang-Chi knows he must once again face his father and his mysterious Ten Rings organization.
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Twilight Saga (2008-2012)
OK, OK, we know in the past that there’s been a deep divide between Potterheads and Twihards. But can’t we all live and enjoy the supernatural elements of each franchise harmoniously? Follow the love story of Edward Cullen and Bella Swan over five films, from Twilight to Breaking Dawn: Part Two, as they break up and make up, become entangled in a vampire-human-werewolf love triangle, and battle the villainous Volturi.
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005)
When Charlie Bucket wins a coveted Golden Ticket, he and four other children are invited to tour the mysterious yet extraordinary Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory and meet the zany candymaker himself in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But chaos ensues as Charlie’s fellow tour goers are lost to the magical factory one by one.
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The Hunger Games Series (2012-2015)
When her younger sister is selected to compete in the annual deadly Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen of Panem’s District 12 volunteers as a tribute in her place. Love and heartbreak unfold as Katniss and the other Tributes battle for survival, as only one contestant comes out of the event alive. The subsequent films, Catching Fire and Mockingjay, follow the events of Suzanne Collins’s series, as a secret rebellion begins to surface throughout Panem.
In November 2023, a prequel movie, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, will premiere in theaters. It follows future Panem president Coriolanus Snow as he helps mentor a tribute in the 10th Hunger Games.
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Alice In Wonderland (2010)
Follow the entrancing adventures of Alice after she tumbles down, down, down a rabbit hole and returns to Wonderland, a magical place she first visited when she was a young girl but no longer has memory of. As the evil Red Queen’s reign persists, Alice is tapped to defeat her monstrous ways and restore Wonderland to peace and harmony.
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The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
The world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy series opens when the coveted One Ring lands in the hands of a young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins, who must travel through Middle-earth to Mount Doom to destroy the all-powerful ring. Follow the epic adventures in the franchise’s sequel films, The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
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