For the franchise, the Harry Potter movies budget seems high, but the franchise historically made up for it when it came to its monster box office takes. While no movie in the franchise cost less than $100 million to make, the franchise has made well over $9.5 billion worldwide (via The Numbers). The movies took a chance early on with a cast of inexperienced child actors leading the way, but then surrounded them with some of the greatest British actors available - an almost who's-who of U.K. acting talent - bringing a level of gravitas to what otherwise would have been just another young adult franchise.
However, this has seen a turnaround since the end of the Boy Wizard's battles against Lord Voldemort concluded. With the prequel series, the Fantastic Beasts movies kept the budgets high, but the return has gone down consistently since that time. This is likely due to the fact that the popularity of the original series was all about the children training in the wizarding school and their uphill battles against an evil Dark Wizard. Instead, the new movies have turned into more of a political thriller with adult wizards attempting to stop the Dark Wizard, leaving much of what attracted the families to the original Harry Potter movies.
11 Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets (2002) - $100 Million
With Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone proving to be a big hit among fans, Warner Bros chose to make Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets on a tight budget with this Harry Potter movies budget the lowest of the entire franchise at just $100 million. But, while the studio saved money on the budget, the blockbuster ended up making almost $100,000 less than its predecessor. Harry spends most of his second year at Hogwarts accused of being the Heir of Slytherin, whose mysterious beast is attacking muggle-borns throughout the school. He’s able to defeat Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, during an epic confrontation in the Chamber itself.
10 Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) - $125 Million
There was always going to be pressure on the first Harry Potter movie and whether it could do a sufficient job of bringing J. K. Rowling’s books to life. This Harry Potter movies budget was a huge $125 million to ensure it met the dizzying expectations of fans and get the series off to a flying start in the process. While it’s not perfect - Daniel Radcliffe’s acting is a little wooden and some of the omissions from the source material are disappointing - it was definitely a solid start. What’s more, it topped the box office standings for 2001 worldwide.
9 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2011) - $125 Million
For the final two movies in the entire series, Warner Bros made the bold decision to split the last book into two. Each blockbuster in the last two of the Harry Potter movies budget was $125 million, with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 setting the stage for Harry’s dramatic final showdown with Lord Voldemort and his repulsive Death Eaters. It should be noted that the two movies, shot back to back, cost a combined $250 million, which equals the highest budget for any single book with Half-Blood Prince. It was successful, too, the third highest-grossing Harry Potter movie, making $951 million at the box office worldwide.
8 Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2010) - $125 Million
The final Harry Potter movie budget was lower than many of the ones before, but it ended up bringing in the most bang for the buck. The final chapter of the saga either brought in fans who didn't see the rest in theaters, or it had a lot of repeat viewings by super fans. Either way, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 was a monster success, bringing in $1.3 billion worldwide, and ranking in the top 20 top-grossing movies of all time. The movie saw Harry go into battle with Voldemort one-on-one where only one wizard would walk away alive.
7 Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban (2004) - $130 Million
There are two notable things about Harry Potter and the Prisoner Of Azkaban. First, it made less money than any movie with Harry Potter in it, at $789 million worldwide, despite being one of the higher totals of the Harry Potter movies budget. It also cost more than four other movies with the Boy Wizard, all of which made more at the box office. However, the movie also remains known as the one where the franchise grew up and went much darker. This was where Harry met his godfather Sirius and joined the war alongside him. Only Deathly Hallows Part 2 has a higher Rotten Tomatoes score, with this one sitting at 90% fresh.
6 Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire (2005) - $150 Million
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was always going to be a rather expensive movie to put together. After all, the book was a huge 190,637 words long, and there was certainly plenty of work to be done behind the scenes. Yet, it did a brilliant job at telling the story of Harry’s turbulent fourth year at Hogwarts, with its Harry Potter movies budget at $150 million. It ended up being cash well spent, topping the box office standings for 2005, with a nice $886 million take, almost $100 million more than the previous movie, Prisoner of Azkaban.
5 Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix (2007) - $150 Million
Also made on a budget of $150 million was Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. It’s the movie that introduces the repulsive Dolores Umbridge, sees Sirius Black tragically pass away, and also shows Harry extremely vulnerable as Lord Voldemort looks to isolate him and take control of the Wizarding World while operating in the shadows. The movie made more money than its predecessor, taking home $939 million, continuing the rise in box office for the entire Harry Potter franchise. However, it wasn’t the most successful movie of 2007, with Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End triumphing in the box office battle instead.
4 Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them (2016) - $180 Million
When Warner Bros. brought back the Wizarding World of Harry Potter for a prequel franchise, it excited fans. There was hope that the studio could catch lightning in a bottle for the second time. However, something unexpected happened. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had a higher Harry Potter movies budget at $180 million, but only brought in $811 million worldwide. That box office total was less than all but one movie in the original Harry Potter franchise. It seemed that this new franchise needed to gain an audience, as fans seemed not ready to come back without Harry and his friends, even with great-looking magical beasts showing up throughout.
3 Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald (2018) - $200 Million
The second movie in the Fantastic Beasts series cost $20 million more than the first, but bringing in stars like Johnny Depp as the villain Grindelwald didn't seem to bring in more fans. This Harry Potter movies budget was $200 million, more than all but one previous film in the franchise. The Crimes of Grindelwald ended up failing to make an impact at the box office compared to the other movies in the series. The box office was, at the time, a rock-bottom $648 million - the lowest of every movie that came before. The movie was more political and didn't have the same magic as the originals.
2 Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022) - $200 Million
The Fantastic Beasts movie franchise has not ended, as the major battle between Dumbledore and Grindelwald has yet to play out. However, that might never happen thanks to the fact that Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore was the franchise's first bonafide flop. The movie had a $200 million budget and only brought in $95 million domestically, making this and its predecessor the only movies in the franchise not to even hit $200 million. The worldwide of $404 million was also the lowest in history. While this included Dumbledore and Grindelwald preparing for their big battle, no one showed up, and the future is bleak.
1 Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince (2009) - $250 Million
The highest of the Harry Potter movies budget, by quite some distance, is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. It’s not the best movie in the series, with a lower 78% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, but it cost Warner Bros. $250 million to create. Part of the reason the funds were so high was the contracts of the main actors went up for negotiation. Another was because many of the scenes involved CGI, which always raises the budget of a movie. It’s still an enjoyable enough movie, and while it made $10 million less than Order of the Phoenix, still set up Harry Potter for his grand two-part finale.