Variety is kicking off the weekend with some marvelous news for Harry Potter fans: all eight movies from the franchise are moving back to HBO Max after spending 11 months on NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming service.
Many folks did not want to pay for yet another streaming service with Peacock (there is a free option, but it comes with ads) so the move back to HBO Max is cause for celebration. Warner Bros. made the Harry Potter movies, so it makes sense that they would appear on the Warner Bros. streaming service.
HBO Max has amassed a healthy subscriber base since launching last year, in no small part because people were interested in watching the big tentpole movies that Warner Bros. was releasing straight to the streaming service, including Wonder Woman 1984, The Suicide Squad and Dune, which is coming around the corner. With the Harry Potter movies part of that roster, it’s the perfect excuse for a weekend in.
When will all eight Harry Potter films come to HBO Max?
The wait is much shorter than you may think. Starting next Wednesday, September 1, all eight films will be available to watch on HBO Max, joining a long list of other Warner Bros. films as well as the DCEU collection.
In case you’ve been hit with the Memory Charm (Obliviate!), the following Harry Potter titles will be on the streaming service: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 and 2.
There is no news currently about whether or not the Fantastic Beasts franchise will also join its predecessors on the streaming service. Hopefully we’ll know sooner rather than later.
Why were the Harry Potter movies on Peacock in the first place?
Speaking of contracts, the reason why these films didn’t stay on HBO Max despite being Warner Bros. films is due to the studio selling the streaming rights to NBC prior to HBO Max’s existence. So when HBO Max launched last May, they only had access to the films for three months before they had to be handed back to NBC.
Things have changed since then and Warner Bros. has reclaimed its rights. This is going to be huge for HBO Max and the overall company in general because Potterheads binge these movies very frequently (speaking from personal experience).
Plus, the holidays are just around the corner, so holiday marathon here we come!
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h/t Uproxx