When HBO Max launched on May 27, it did so with a fairly significant surprise: Every Harry Potter film was available. It was a nice addition to a streaming service that in many ways didn't quite make sense — it still lives alongside the legacy HBO service but costs exactly the same each month, it has a ridiculously similar name, and you can get everything that's on HBO on HBO Max. (The reverse isn't true.)
But just like a wizard's spell that's run its course, Harry Potter is about to vanish from HBO Max on August 25 — exactly 90 days after the films landed in their entirety.
And, well, that's it. (It's also the least offensive news the series has found itself in in recent weeks.)
After that, we'll be forced to go back and watch Harry Potter all the other ways we can watch it on-demand.
The films, for those who've been living under a rock, include:
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)
- Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)
So that's a decade's worth of Harry Potter about to vanish from HBO and HBO Max in August. An no spell that doesn't include a few dollar signs can do anything about it.
