Movies Like Harry Potter

If you loved Harry Potter (2001) for its magical world-building, the warmth of Hogwarts, and watching characters grow from children into heroes across an epic saga, these 10 movies deliver a similar experience. We picked each one based on shared tone, themes, and emotional feel — not just surface-level genre tags.

1. 

   1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

   2005 Fantasy

   During World War II, four siblings evacuated to a country house step through a wardrobe into Narnia, a land frozen under the rule of the White Witch. Like Harry Potter, it begins with ordinary British children discovering a hidden magical world and a destiny waiting for them there. The story leans more toward fairy tale and Christian allegory than school adventure, and it builds to a large battle rather than a mystery.

   Where to watch The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. 

   2. Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

   2010 Fantasy

   Percy, a teenager with dyslexia and ADHD, learns he is the son of Poseidon and is sent to a camp for demigods before setting out to clear his name when Zeus's lightning bolt goes missing. The structure mirrors Harry Potter closely: a misfit kid discovers he belongs to a secret world, gains loyal friends, and trains at a special camp. It is brasher and more American, built on Greek myths instead of spells, and directed by Chris Columbus, who also directed the first two Harry Potter films.

   Where to watch Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief
3. 

   3. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

   2016 Fantasy

   In 1920s New York, magizoologist Newt Scamander, played by Eddie Redmayne, arrives with a suitcase full of magical creatures, some of which escape. Written by J.K. Rowling and set in the Harry Potter universe, it is the closest pick here, with familiar spells, wands, and wizarding politics. The main characters are adults rather than students, and the story is more about creature chases and secret-society intrigue than school life.

   Where to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
4. 

   4. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

   2001 Fantasy

   A young hobbit, Frodo, inherits a powerful ring and joins a fellowship of men, elves, a dwarf, and a wizard on a quest to destroy it before the Dark Lord Sauron reclaims it. Harry Potter fans will recognize the shape: a small hero carrying a great burden, a wise wizard mentor, and an evil force returning to power. Peter Jackson's film is far grander and more serious, with large battles and an older feel, and no school setting.

   Where to watch The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
5. 

   5. Stardust

   2007 Fantasy

   Tristan, a young man from an English village, crosses a wall into a magical kingdom to retrieve a fallen star for the woman he wants to marry, only to find the star is a young woman. It catches the whimsy and witty British charm that make the early Harry Potter films so appealing, with witches and scheming princes adding to the mix. It is a romantic comedy-adventure for slightly older viewers, more fairy tale than boarding school.

   Where to watch Stardust
6. 

   6. The Spiderwick Chronicles

   2008 Fantasy

   After moving into a crumbling family house, twins Jared and Simon and their sister find a field guide revealing a hidden world of faeries, goblins, and an ogre who wants the book for himself. The sense of children stumbling into a secret magical world, and of family tension mixed with danger, connects it to Harry Potter. It is a shorter, self-contained adventure with a scarier creature-feature streak and no magic school.

   Where to watch The Spiderwick Chronicles
7. 

   7. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

   2016 Fantasy

   Jake, a teenager investigating his grandfather's stories, finds a hidden home for children with peculiar abilities, protected by a time loop and the shape-shifting Miss Peregrine. A secret community of gifted kids, a formidable headmistress, and dark forces hunting them all line it up with Harry Potter. Tim Burton gives it an eerier, more gothic look, and the story is a standalone rather than the start of a long saga.

   Where to watch Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
8. 

   8. Eragon

   2006 Fantasy

   Eragon, a farm boy, finds a blue stone that hatches into a dragon, Saphira, and soon he is on the run from an evil king alongside an old storyteller who knows more than he lets on. The chosen-one setup, mentor relationship, and dark ruler echo Harry Potter's core story. It moves fast and stays mostly on the road, so expect quest fantasy with less of the humor and world detail that Potter fans enjoy.

   Where to watch Eragon
9. 

   9. The Golden Compass

   2007 Fantasy

   In a parallel world where every person's soul lives outside them as an animal companion, a fearless girl named Lyra sets out for the frozen North to find missing children. Its Oxford college setting, bold young hero, and sinister ruling authority give it plenty in common with Harry Potter. Based on Philip Pullman's novel, it carries more pointed ideas about power and religion, and its story stops short of a full resolution.

   Where to watch The Golden Compass
10. 

    10. Hugo

    2011 Adventure

    Hugo, an orphan secretly living in the walls of a 1930s Paris train station, tries to repair an automaton his late father left behind and stumbles onto a link to a forgotten filmmaker. Martin Scorsese's film has the wonder and orphan-hero heart that fans connect with in Harry Potter. It contains no actual magic, though; the enchantment comes from early cinema, clockwork, and discovery, which makes it a thoughtful change of pace.

    Where to watch Hugo