Claim: Harry Potter is a fantasy film series.

Harry Potter is a British-American film series based on the Harry Potter novels by author J. K. Rowling . The series is distributed by Warner Bros. and consists of eight fantasy films , beginning with Harry Potter and the Philosopher 's Stone -LRB- 2001 -RRB- and culminating with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 -LRB- 2011 -RRB- . A spin-off prequel series will consist of five films , starting with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . The Fantastic Beasts films mark the beginning of a shared media franchise known as J. K. Rowling 's Wizarding World .   The series was mainly produced by David Heyman , and stars Daniel Radcliffe , Rupert Grint , and Emma Watson as the three leading characters : Harry Potter , Ron Weasley , and Hermione Granger . Four directors worked on the series : Chris Columbus , Alfonso Cuarón , Mike Newell , and David Yates . The screenplays were written by Steve Kloves , with the exception of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix -LRB- 2007 -RRB- , which was written by Michael Goldenberg . Production took over ten years to complete , with the main story arc following Harry Potter 's quest to overcome his arch-enemy Lord Voldemort .   Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , the seventh and final novel in the series , was adapted into two feature-length parts . Part 1 was released in November 2010 , and Part 2 was released in July 2011 .   Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban -LRB- 2004 -RRB- is the only film in the series not among the 50 highest-grossing films of all time , with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Part 2 , the highest-grossing film in the series and one of 30 films to gross over $ 1 billion , ranking at number 8 . Without inflation adjustment , it is the second highest-grossing film series with $ 8.5 billion in worldwide receipts .