The Harry Potter franchise has touched the hearts of fans all over the world. Not only are the Harry Potter movies great coming-of-age stories but they also have expansive worlds that fans could enjoy for years after. The Harry Potter series is unlike most other franchises because it has rich lore and engaging characters. Each of the eight movies provides a magical adventure that maintains a consistent quality throughout. In light of the Harry Potter cast reunion airing on New Year’s Day, we have created a list of the 10 best movies like the Harry Potter franchise.

 

10 Best Movies Like Harry Potter

10. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

When looking for movies like Harry Potter, it doesn’t get much better than an actual spinoff from the Harry Potter film series. The Fantastic Beasts franchise is a prequel to the events with Harry Potter. The franchise is based on a fictional textbook that was required reading for first-year students at Hogwarts called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, which is also the title of the first Fantastic Beasts movie. The prequel follows the adventures of writer Newt Scamander in New York’s secret community of witches and wizards seventy years before Harry Potter reads his book in school. With similar in-depth lore and magical stories, the Fantastic Beasts movies are sure to please any Harry Potter fan.

 

Where To Watch Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

Hulu w/ Live TV

 

Where To Watch Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

Hulu w/ Live TV

 

9. Pirates of the Caribbean Series

Similar to Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean is a franchise with many movies centering around magical adventure. The Caribbean movies are full of action, humor, and engaging characters that you’ll easily root for. The series starts off strong with The Curse of the Black pearl, which follows Jack Sparrow who teams up with Will Turner to save the governor’s daughter from pirates. The franchise may not be as consistent as Harry Potter but it’s a whole lot of fun.

 

Where To Watch The Pirates of the Caribbean Franchise

Disney Plus

 

8. Stardust

For those who love magical adventures, Stardust is a great movie to watch. The charming magical fantasy is delightful and well-acted. Starring Charlie Cox, Henry Cavill, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Claire Danes, Stardust follows a young man who makes a promise to his beloved that he’ll retrieve a fallen star by venturing into the magical realm. The world was inspired by The Princess Bride but the magic and fantastical adventure are reminiscent of the Harry Potter franchise.

 

Where To Watch Stardust

Netflix

 

7. The Hunger Games Franchise

Part of what makes the Harry Potter movies so great is that they center around a group of teens as they mature. The franchise follows a group of adolescents as they grow into wizards. Comparable to Harry Potter, The Hunger Games is a story that follows Katniss Everdeen, a teenager, as she grows into a symbol for the rebellion. The Hunger Games isn’t magical, fun, or fantastical. Rather it’s intense and at times very dark. The world that the franchise builds is an appealing dystopia that will completely immerse you.

 

Where To Watch The Hunger Games Movies

Hulu

 

6. Dune

The rich lore in Harry Potter sticks with audiences more than the story or the characters. If you’re looking for more movies with lore, Dune has one of the most expansive worlds in sci-fi history. The sci-fi follows the son of a noble family who is entrusted with the protection of the most valuable asset and most vital element in the galaxy. Denis Villeneuve recently adapted Frank Herbert’s Dune novel into two films. Part one was released earlier this year and proved to be an engrossing spectacle with a star-studded cast, breathtaking visuals, and a beautiful score created by Hans Zimmer. Part two is set to be released in 2023 and is already looking to be one of the most anticipated movies of the year.

 

Where To Watch Dune For $24.99

Prime Video

 

5. The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy

The Chronicles of Narnia trilogy has many similarities to Harry Potter. They take place in a magical land with witches, prophecies, and young heroes. Also, the trilogy works as a coming-of-age series, tracking the journey of 4 teenage siblings that mature into heroes. The franchise begins with The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the witch, and the wardrobe, which is about four kids who travel through a wardrobe to the land of Narnia and learn of their destiny to free it with the guidance of a mystical lion. The Narnia trilogy has the medieval adventure of Lord of the Rings and the child-like wonder of Harry Potter.

 

Where To Watch The Chronicles of Narnia Trilogy

Disney Plus

 

4. Princess Mononoke

Lovers of magical fantasy enjoy immersing themselves into captivating new worlds. Studio Ghibli is a studio that has created many well-loved anime movies with imaginative settings. Princess Mononoke is a Studio Ghibli classic that provides a truly immersive experience that is both tragic and heartwarming. The anime is about a young man named Ashitaka, who gets caught up in the middle of a war between forest gods and a mining colony while looking for a cure for his curse. The story is complex and has a relevant message about protecting the environment.

 

Where To Watch Princess Mononoke

HBO Max

 

3. Spirited Away

Spirited Away is the poster child of magical anime fantasies. The Studio Ghibli anime, created by Hayao Miyazaki, actually won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003 and is one of the most unique movies you’ll ever watch. Spirited Away centers around a 10-year-old girl who, after being discouraged by her family’s move to the suburbs, discovers an alternate reality of gods and demons that change humans into beasts. The movie is a blend of youth, love, and magic that will keep you hooked until the end.

 

Where To Watch Spirited Away

HBO Max

 

2. Avatar: The Last Airbender

Not a movie but Avatar: The Last Airbender is a series that has one of the most compelling worlds ever created. The world is original and completely unique with beautiful cultures and riveting characters. The series follows siblings Katara and Sokka who wake a young child from a long hibernation and learn that he’s the Avatar, the only hope to defeat the evil Fire Nation. The Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great alternative to Harry Potter with complex characters and poignant messages about war.

 

Where To Watch Avatar: The Last Airbender

Netflix
Paramount Plus

 

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most popular franchises of all time. With an expansive world and awe-inspiring action sequences, the fantasy franchise has enchanted audiences for over 50 years. The movies follow a meek Hobbit and eight companions who set out on a journey to destroy a ring that has the power to destroy Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings is arguably one of the best alternatives to Harry Potter. The movies were responsible for iconic characters such as Gollum and Gandalf. And, even though the ambitious fantasy epic was created in 2001, the visual effects were incredibly detailed and have stood the test of time. All of these reasons and more puts Lord of the Rings at the top of our list.

 

Where To Watch Lord of the Rings

HBO Max

 

Fantasy Movies Are The Ultimate Escape

Movies can work as an escape from life and there is no better escape than a fantasy with an imaginative story. Movies like Harry Potter can transport you to another world through their intriguing mythology, enchanting characters, and captivating story. You’ll want to have a similar journey after finishing the Harry Potter film series, and these 10 films are some of the best choices for you.

 

Christmas is almost upon us and with it comes a plethora of holiday movies, decorations, and music to spread the Christmas spirit. However, as much as we all love the Christmas classics such as A Christmas Story, Home Alone, and Elf, sometimes we crave a fresh movie to watch for the holiday. A movie that has similar quality and tone to the classics, but a whole new storyline. In this blog post, we have compiled the 10 most underrated Christmas movies that you can add to your holiday movie watchlist.

 

10 Most Underrated Christmas Movies

10. The Best Man Holiday

The Best Man Holiday is a sequel to The Best Man, which was released in 1999. Both movies created by Malcolm D. Lee, The Best Man movies have an ensemble cast of Morris Chestnut, Taye Diggs, Nia Long, Regina Hall, and Terrance Howard. The Best Man holiday is about college friends who reunite after 15 years over the Christmas holidays and discover just how easy it is for long-forgotten relationships to be reignited. The movie is full of comedy as well as drama and for fans of the cast, it’s easily enjoyable.

 

Where To Watch The Best Man Holiday

Peacock
Hulu w/ Live TV

 

9. The Preacher’s Wife

The Preacher’s Wife is a remake of The Bishop’s Wife from 1947, which was based on a novel with the same name. Originally, the story was about an angel who is sent to help a Bishop and his wife raise money for a church. In The Preacher’s Wife, the story is about an angel who is supposed to help a pastor over his midlife crisis, but gets distracted by the cleric’s lovely young wife. Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston’s dynamic chemistry on-screen together and Houston’s powerful singing voice make The Preacher’s Wife a Christmas movie to remember.

 

Where To Watch The Preacher’s Wife

Hulu w/ Live TV

 

8. The Family Man

Nicolas Cage is one of the most entertaining actors of the current era. He can give performances that range from lovable hero to a deranged criminal. In The Family Man, Cage plays the former. The movie is about a fast-lane investment broker who gets the chance to see how the other half lives when he wakes up to find that his sports car and girlfriend have become a mini-van and wife. The Family Man has a crowd-pleasing story with an emotional core that can win over most audiences.

 

Where To Watch The Family Man

Prime Video w/ AMC+
Sling

 

7. The Christmas Chronicles

We’ve seen Tim Allen as Santa Claus and now Kurt Russell takes up the mantle in The Christmas Chronicles. The movie tells the story of sister and brother, Kate and Teddy Pierce, whose Christmas Eve plan to catch Santa Claus on camera turns into an unexpected journey that most kids could only dream about. Russell gives an endearing performance as Santa and the movie captures the right balance between cheesy and heartfelt. The Christmas Chronicles puts a fresh spin on a Christmas story and Santa Claus in general.

 

Where To Watch The Christmas Chronicles

Netflix

 

6. Little Women

This romantic drama is not inherently a Christmas movie, but the focus on family and the events that take place around Christmas makes it an excellent movie choice to watch around the holidays. Little Women, which was originally a novel, has been adapted into a movie three times with the most recent adaptation directed by Greta Gerwig in 2019. The movie is about Jo March as she reflects back on her life and tells the beloved story of the March sisters – four young women, each determined to live life on her own terms. Gerwig creates a deeper look into the characters and has stellar performances from Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson, and Timothée Chalamet.

 

Where To Watch Little Women

Starz

 

5. The Holiday

Similar to Little Women, The Holiday is not inherently a Christmas movie. Instead, it is a movie that takes place around the holiday season. The Holiday is a romantic comedy that follows two women who are looking to escape their guy problems and swap homes in each other’s countries. With a score from Hans Zimmer and a cast of Kate Winslet, Jack Black, Jude Law, and Cameron Diaz, The Holiday creates an experience beyond any generic romance movie.

 

Where To Watch The Holiday

Hulu

 

4. Get Santa

Santa Claus, in many ways, is the figurehead of Christmas and it’s no surprise that many beloved Christmas movies center around the jolly old man. Get Santa is a movie about Santa and it tells a fresh story that is both hilarious and full of Christmas magic. The movie follows a father and son who team up to save Christmas once they discover that Santa Claus crashed his sleigh and is on the run from the police. Get Santa is entertaining, family-friendly, and worth watching for the unusual premise alone.

 

Where To Watch Get Santa For Free

YouTube

 

3. The Man Who Invented Christmas

We’ve all heard of A Christmas Carol, one of the most famous and influential stories of all time. Well, The Man Who Invented Christmas puts a unique spin on the typical Scrooge narrative and gives us a look into the man behind it, Charles Dickens. The movie tells the story of how Charles Dickens came up with and developed the idea of A Christmas Carol. Although the film is not entirely historically accurate, there are enough accurate details to give viewers a general idea of Dickens’s backstory. The Man Who Invented Christmas is one of the best underrated Christmas movies, as well as an educational film to watch if you want to learn more about arguably the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.

 

Where To Watch The Man Who Invented Christmas

Hulu

 

2. Arthur Christmas

A popular trend with stories centering around Santa Claus is to instead shift the focus on Santa’s family. Arthur Christmas is an animation that focuses on Santa Claus’s children. The animation is about Santa’s clumsy son Arthur who sets out on a mission with Grandsanta to give out a present they misplaced to a young girl in less than two hours. Arthur Christmas is a compelling addition to the Santa Claus lore, where the mantle of Santa is passed down in a family from generation to generation. It also has enthralling characters that are easy to fall in love with.

 

Where To Watch Arthur’s Christmas

Hulu w Live TV

 

1. Klaus

Klaus tops our list of underrated Christmas movies because it tells a unique new story that has beautiful animation. Klaus brings a comedic adventure that also has a valuable message: A simple act of kindness always sparks another. The animation is about a new postman who befriends a toy-maker when their gifts melt an age-old feud and accidentally brings about the genesis of Santa Claus. Klaus is a recent Christmas release that is weird, complex, and a modern Christmas classic.

 

Where To Watch Klaus

Netflix

 

Different Christmas Movies To Add To Your Watchlist

Christmas is a time where traditions and family are celebrated. Many people like to watch the same movies every year to get into the Christmas spirit. However, even though traditions are important, it’s also sometimes fun to switch things up and watch new movies that you haven’t seen before. We hope these 10 movies give you a new perspective of Christmas and an interesting break from your typical Christmas movie list.

 

Christmas is fast approaching and unfortunately, the days of buying a movie lover a simple DVD is long gone. With streaming services taking over the industry, DVDs are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Although buying a movie fan a gift card to a local movie theater is always useful, there’s usually nothing fun or surprising about getting a gift card as a gift.

Buying a gift for cinephiles can be difficult because they are out of the ordinary. You can’t easily find cinephile gifts in stores like you can with other products. They usually require deeper research and knowledge of the person you are buying the gift for.

Every cinephile is different and has their own preferences of directors and favorite films. This blog post gives you a list of the best gifts you can buy for movie lovers. This list may not have gifts that specifically fit your cinephile friend or partner’s interests but they should at least give you an idea of what gifts to look for.

 

10 Best Gifts For Movie Buffs

10. The Criterion Collection

Criterion is a distribution company that has made its way into many movie lovers’ hearts. They were created in 1984 and have made a legacy of digitally restoring important classic and contemporary movies. Criterion creates special DVD packages with designs and features that deepen a fan’s appreciation of the film. The packages usually contain beautifully artistic DVD covers and bonus features such as posters, booklets, documentaries about the production, and more. The Criterion Collection is the best way to buy a DVD as a gift for movie lovers. Search their Criterion Collection to see if you can find a Criterion package of a film that your cinephile loves.

 

9. A Script of Their Favorite Film

Scripts are an interesting and unique gift for movie lovers. They offer an in-depth look into a film and what the writer’s intentions were before the director took over. Physical copies of scripts can forever be stored and easily accessed at any time. If you find out what movie your cinephile loves, you can buy them a script online or download the script online and print it off. Here are a few great websites where you can find scripts.

A24 Screenplays
William Goldman: Four Screenplays with Essays
The Internet Movie Script Database (IMSDb)
Simply Scripts
HollywoodScriptShop.com

 

8. Books About Films

Some of the greatest gifts for movie fans, ironically, are books. Many cinephiles read almost as much as they watch movies and TV shows. There are a lot of books that detail the entire production of a film or showcase different art pieces that relate to films. Books that examine the history of the film industry also make great gifts for movie buffs. If you need some recommendations of books, check out this short list:

Criterion Designs
The Film Snob*s Dictionary: An Essential Lexicon of Filmological Knowledge
The Art of Horror Movies: An Illustrated History
Separate Cinema: The First 100 Years of Black Poster Art
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
Monsters in the Movies by John Landi
Letters from Hollywood: Inside the Private World of Classic American Moviemaking
The Art of Pixar
The Stanley Kubrick Archives
Paul Thomas Anderson: Masterworks
Quentin Tarantino: The iconic filmmaker and his work
The Star Wars Archives
The Wes Anderson Collection
85 Years of the Oscar: The Official History of the Academy Awards
Eat What You Watch Book

 

7. Mini Portable Projector

Nowadays, you don’t need a DVD player or a huge console to watch content. All you need is one device that can fit in the palm of your hands. Portable projectors are a newer invention and many of them have built-in streaming services and WiFi capabilities. Movie buffs will love this gift because it will give them the freedom to watch films anywhere, anytime.

 

6. Inflatable At-Home Movie Theater

Sometimes watching a movie on a regular TV screen can be an unfulfilling. The movie theater experience is difficult to replicate and with the pandemic closing down movie theaters for almost a year, it left a lot of uncertainty about how long movie theaters would be around. Well if you can’t go to the movie theaters, the next best option is to bring them to you. Along with projectors, inflatable mega movie projection screens can be a great gift for movie buffs who love hosting movie nights.

 

5. Card and Board Games

Movie fans are usually well-versed in film and television, but they rarely get the chance to prove it. Card and board games are a great way to test the knowledge of self-proclaimed movie buffs. There are two games that every cinephile should have.

Cinephile which is a card game dedicated to people who have a deep appreciation of films. It is seen by many as the ultimate game for movie geeks.

Blockbuster, a board game that is more casual and party-oriented. The game is for anyone who has ever seen a film but it can be especially fun for movie fans.

 

4. Popcorn Machine

Movie theaters carry certain associations in our minds. Candy, drinks, and of course, popcorn all come to mind when we think of the silver screen. A popcorn machine is both a symbolic and useful gift to movie lovers. It can also add to the decoration and ambiance in their house or apartment.

 

3. A Poster of their Favorite Film

Speaking of decorations, there are no more popular movie-related decorations than posters. Posters can mean a lot to people who are fond of movies. They have a sentimental value, especially when it is a movie poster of their favorite film. They make a great gift that can also can be a reminder of you just by looking at them.

 

2. Ticket Box

Many cinephiles collect cinema tickets the same way some people collect baseball cards. A ticket box is a gift that some movie enthusiasts will love because it gives them a place to store all of their tickets. As they age, they can look through their tickets and keep track of what they saw in theaters and the memories that come with that.

 

 

1. Framed Film Cell

If your movie lover is a fan of classic films from the 20th Century, then they’ll love a FilmCell. FilmCells are framed displays of images and real 35mm film from iconic movies. Each piece of film included is hand-cut from film reels and placed in a quality frame. They can also come with a backlight to highlight the film cells as it hangs on a wall. You can learn more about FilmCells here.

 

Creative Gifts For Creative People

Getting someone a basic gift like socks or a gift card is easy but it’s not always the most memorable. Memorabilia can be a very meaningful gift to movie lovers along with the other gifts on our list. This holiday season, we hope these recommendations will make your movie lover’s holiday a little more special.