Word Wizardry vs. Movie Magic

Which Harry Potter Movies Are Better Than the Books?

Photo: Warner Bros.

Most of the time, it’s a controversial thing to say that a movie is better than the book it’s based on. Film adaptations have a reputation for dumbing down their source material, serving as shortcuts for lazy students trying to cut corners on their book reports. But both the Harry Potter books and the films based on the series have equal standing in the hearts of many Potter fanatics. The films give expression to the stories we love, sometimes even eclipsing the original work of J.K. Rowling in the eyes of her loyal fans.

So which of the installments in the Harry Potter film series outshines the original novels? And where do the movie versions fall short? We broke it down with this handy scatterplot, comparing the results of two Ranker lists: All Harry Potter Books, Ranked Best to Worst, and All Harry Potter Movies, Ranked Best to Worst. Keep in mind, when we say a movie or book is “bad,” we mean relative to the other entries in their respective series: every book and movie on these lists was voted up by 64% of voters or more.

Photo: Warner Bros.

Photo: Warner Bros.

One movie that clearly fails to live up to Rowling’s work is the sixth installment in the series, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. This book is ranked #1 out of all seven books, though it’s only #5 on our list of movies. The Goblet of Fire movie also left fans of the books feeling cold, ranking at #2 on the list of books, but #6 on the list of movies. Prisoner of Azkaban is high on both lists, but as the #1 movie with 72% upvotes, its film version is beloved slightly more than the book, which is #3 on its list with 70% approval. 

On the other side of the spectrum are movies that fans love more than the books. Chamber of Secrets is #4 on the movie rankings (though it’s switched spots with Sorcerer’s Stone twice the week of publication), upvoted by 67% of voters, but it’s in last place on the list of books. Deathly Hallows is a complicated comparison, since there are two movies to one book. Part II is all the way up at #2 on the list of movies, markedly better than the book’s #5 ranking. Meanwhile, Part I is in last place among the eight films based on the book series, placing it well behind its source material.

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Disagree with these rankings? Add your voice to the 12,000 combined voters on both lists and tell us how you would rank these movies and books. As a new generation of readers discovers the magic of the Harry Potter universe, these rankings are sure to change over time. 

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These stories are crafted using Ranker Insights, which takes over one billion votes cast on Ranker.com and converts them into actionable psychographics about pop culture fans across the world. To learn more about how our Ranker Insights can be customized to serve your business needs, visit insights.ranker.com, or email us at insights@ranker.com.