The Harry Potter movies will be re-released in theaters, but only in one country

The Harry Potter movies are heading back to the theaters, but there's an unfortunate catch for those in the United States, the United Kingdom, and basically the rest of the world outside of China.

According to a report from Variety, Warner Bros. Discovery is re-releasing all eight Harry Potter movies in China starting on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024. Each movie will be available for one week in more than 3,000 theaters around the country.

That's right; every Friday a new Harry Potter movie will be released in theaters. Can you imagine watching the Harry Potter movies like that? You've never seen the Harry Potter movies, but you get to watch one movie per week for eight weeks in a row! That would be an awesome way to experience the franchise for the first time. For most of us, we had to wait years between the movies with a few books sprinkled in here and there.

All eight movies will be released consecutively in theaters in an effort to help the film industry in China after the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the report.

Harry Potter movies release schedule in China

We shared the list of the Harry Potter movies and the corresponding theatrical release dates in China, via Variety.

• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone: Oct. 11
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets: Oct. 18
• Harry Potter and Prisoner of Azkaban: Oct. 25
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire: Nov. 1
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix: Nov. 8
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince: Nov. 15
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1: Nov. 23
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Nov. 30

Technically speaking, you could, if you hadn't seen the Harry Potter movies or were introducing them to a new family member or friend, do the one-movie-per-week watch schedule to dive into the Wizarding World. With all eight of the Harry Potter movies available to stream on MAX right now, it makes it easy to watch the whole series within a few days and call it a "Harry Potter weekend" like the old days on ABC Family, you know?

I don't go to the movie theaters that often anymore, but would I for all eight Harry Potter movies? Still no, honestly. But, if I hadn't seen them yet, somehow, I would definitely do that! It's such a cool idea aimed at revitalizing the film and theater industry.

It will be very interesting to see how the release goes in China. If it goes well, could Warner Bros. Discovery do something similar in the US or the UK? I don't know how that would work with the many licensing agreements for the rights to the Harry Potter movies, but it could happen, theoretically.

According to reports, the licensing rights to the Harry Potter movies will be up in April 2025. What happens then, we still don't know, but I guess it's possible something big could happen before the Harry Potter TV series lands sometime in late 2026 or early 2027.

There's a lot going on these days in the Wizarding World. Stay tuned for more news about the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter TV series, and the stars of both!