MuggleNet is proud to have witnessed, documented, and participated in the global Harry Potter phenomenon for over a quarter of a century. This timeline contains a snapshot of significant moments in Harry Potter history, including book and film releases, wider franchise events, and fandom milestones, along with links to more details and coverage. It paints a picture of how Pottermania has grown and changed, how fans have responded to new content as well as lulls, and how the magic has stayed alive after all this time.
Bloomsbury publishes Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J.K. Rowling with an initial print run of 500 books, 300 of which are distributed to libraries. It wins a National Book Award and Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, among other prizes.
Bloomsbury publishes Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, which is an immediate bestseller and wins the first Children's Book Award from the Scottish Arts Council, a Nestlé Smarties Book Prize, and more.
Scholastic publishes the first book in the series, changing the name from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone to Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone due to concerns that American children would not want to read a book with the word "philosopher" in the title. It goes on to top the New York Times Best Seller list.
Scholastic publishes Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. It is recognized by the American Library Association as one of its Notable Children's Books and Best Books for Young Adults.
Bloomsbury publishes the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which sells more than 68,000 copies in the first three days, making it the fastest-selling British book at the time.
Harry Potter is now the most popular fandom on the fan fiction website, with over 800,000 stories posted.
Scholastic publishes Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, which tops the New York Times Best Seller list.
Emerson Spartz, a 12-year-old homeschooled student from La Porte, Indiana, starts a website devoted to Harry Potter that attracts millions of readers with its unique and comprehensive content.
School librarian Steve Vander Ark launches an extensive online encyclopedia compiling facts about the series and wizarding world as well as analysis and detailed timelines.
The release of the fourth book marks the first simultaneous publication on both sides of the Atlantic, with a combined first printing of over five million copies. Bookstores hold midnight release parties for the first time. Three million copies are sold in the US over the first weekend. The New York Times creates a separate Children's Best Seller list after Harry Potter takes up too much space on the regular list.
Two books from the wizarding world, Quidditch Through the Ages by Kennilworthy Whisp and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, are released as a set known as the Hogwarts Library, with proceeds benefiting Comic Relief.
The film adaptations begin with Harry Potter and the Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone, which earns $974 million worldwide during its initial run, making it the highest-grossing film of 2001 and second-highest-grossing film ever at the time. The film is nominated for three Academy Awards, seven BAFTA Awards, and two Grammy Awards.
Harry and the Potters ushers in the wizard rock genre, leading to the formation of more Harry Potter–inspired bands, including Draco and the Malfoys, the Whomping Willows, the Moaning Myrtles, and Tonks and the Aurors.
The second film grosses $878 million worldwide and is nominated for three BAFTA Awards.
After a long three-year wait, the fifth book finally hits bookshelves, selling five million copies in the first 24 hours.
Harry Potter Education Fanon, Inc., (HPEF) hosts the first major Harry Potter convention, Nimbus 2003, in Orlando, Florida, combining an academic symposium with fandom.
Potter Puppet Pals becomes an internet phenomenon after posting an animated puppet show titled "Bothering Snape," followed by "Trouble at Hogwarts" a few months later.
The third film breaks the record for the biggest single day in UK box office history and later receives two Academy Award nominations.
The sixth book has a record-breaking release, with 1.4 million advance orders, an initial print run of 10.8 million, and nine million copies sold worldwide in the first 24 hours.
Founded by MuggleNet staff members, MuggleCast is the first major Harry Potter podcast, and becomes the longest running. Podcasts become a staple of the fandom, exploring the series from various perspectives.
A group of students at Middlebury College in Vermont adapt the wizarding sport for the real world, playing on the ground while holding brooms between their legs. Muggle Quidditch becomes a global sensation, with hundreds of teams around the world.
The fourth film grosses $896 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing movie of the year, and runs for 20 weeks in cinemas.
Founded by Andrew Slack, the Harry Potter Alliance, which later expands to include more fandoms as Fandom Forward, is a nonprofit organization that mobilizes fans to take action on social issues, including LGBTQ+ rights, economic justice, immigration reform, climate change, and labor rights.
The infamous fan fiction, whose author remains unconfirmed, is posted on FanFiction.net. It follows vampire/witch Hogwarts student Ebony Dark'ness Dementia Raven Way, who has a relationship with Draco Malfoy.
Potter Puppet Pals reaches a new level of viral popularity with its catchy hit, now featuring real puppets. "The Mysterious Ticking Noise" wins Best Comedy at the 2007 YouTube Video Awards.
The fifth film has a worldwide five-day opening of $333 million. There are 2,311 midnight screenings in the US and Canada, bringing in $12 million.
The series concludes with the seventh book, selling 8.3 million copies in the first 24 hours in the US.
The Hogwarts Library has a new addition with The Tales of Beedle the Bard, which includes "The Tale of the Three Brothers" and other stories for wizarding children. Proceeds benefit Lumos, which aims to end the institutionalization of children.
A group of students at the University of Michigan, who would become known as StarKid, posts their musical on YouTube. With a book by Matt Lang, Nick Lang, and Brian Holden and music and lyrics by Darren Criss and A.J. Holmes, the show goes viral.
After its debut in Chicago, Harry Potter: The Exhibition, which features props, costumes, artifacts, and set pieces from the films, travels around the world.
The sixth film breaks the records for biggest single-day worldwide gross with $104 million and for biggest five-day opening with $394 million.
StarKid Productions follows up its wildly popular A Very Potter Musical with a sequel, which gets 160,000 views within two days of being posted on YouTube.
Hogsmeade comes to life at Universal's Islands of Adventure, featuring such attractions as Ollivanders, Honeydukes, the Three Broomsticks (serving butterbeer), and Hogwarts Castle, which houses the ride Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
The seventh film has the highest opening of the year, grossing $330 million worldwide over its opening weekend, and is later nominated for two Academy Awards.
It all ends with the eighth film, which breaks records around the world and becomes the third-highest-grossing film ever at the time, making $1.3 billion worldwide. It is nominated for three Academy Awards.
Now known as HarryPotter.com, Pottermore initially offers a Sorting quiz, a wand quiz, potion brewing, a House Cup competition, additional writing about the wizarding world, and a digital journey through the series.
An exhibition featuring original sets, props, and costumes opens at Leavesden Studios, where the series was filmed.
MuggleNet debuts Alohomora!, the fandom’s first book club podcast solely dedicated to discussing the Harry Potter series one chapter at a time. It becomes the second-longest-running Potter podcast after MuggleCast.
StarKid completes its musical Potter trilogy with a live staged reading of A Very Potter Senior Year at LeakyCon in Chicago, featuring much of the original cast as well as Evanna Lynch as Luna Lovegood.
The expansion of the theme park includes the ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts as well as the Hogwarts Express connecting the new Diagon Alley area in Universal Studios Florida with Hogsmeade in Universal's Islands of Adventure.
Hogsmeade and Hogwarts come to Osaka with attractions similar to those in Orlando, including the rides Flight of the Hippogriff and Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.
MuggleNet hosts its first live event in London, featuring appearances by Harry Potter cast members. Profits are donated to charity.
Matt Cox's hit Potter parody, Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, opens at the Peoples Improv Theater (PIT) for an initial five-show run. Its success leads to it running for eight months at PIT and an off-Broadway transfer.
MuggleNet debuts SpeakBeasty, a podcast devoted to the Fantastic Beasts series, which runs until 2024.
California gets its own Hogsmeade and Hogwarts at Universal Studios Hollywood.
Previews begin for the first part of the two-part play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, written by Jack Thorne and directed by John Tiffany. Part Two premieres two days later. The show officially opens on July 30, 2016. The production receives a record-breaking 11 Olivier Award nominations and nine wins.
Harry Potter midnight book release parties are held around the world for the first time since 2007 to celebrate the publication of the script of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
The first film based on Newt Scamander's Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is released. It wins the franchise's first Academy Award, given to Colleen Atwood for costume design.
MuggleNet's second live event coincides with the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and fittingly takes place in the Diagon Alley section of Universal Studios Florida.
The exhibition Harry Potter: A History of Magic features rare Potter items, such as manuscripts, as well as books and artifacts related to the real history of magic and witchcraft from the British Library's collections. It travels to the New-York Historical Society and Tokyo Station Gallery. An associated book and documentary are released.
Previews begin for the first part of the Broadway transfer of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Part Two premieres the next day. The show officially opens on April 22, 2018. The production receives ten Tony Award nominations and wins six, including Best Play.
The second installment in the Fantastic Beasts series is released. It receives two BAFTA Award nominations.
MuggleNet's third live event celebrates the site's 20th anniversary with a retrospective variety show at New York Comic Con and a party at the Hard Rock Cafe.
MuggleNet debuts Potterversity, an academic podcast that explores the wizarding world from various scholarly perspectives.
Another Hogsmeade Village opens in Beijing, China.
Initially planned as a trilogy, then expanded into a five-film series, the Fantastic Beasts series appears to have no further installments after the third film.
Another studio tour, featuring set replicas, original props and costumes, and an immersive experience depicting Harry Potter's page-to-screen journey, opens in Toshimaen, a former amusement park in Nerima, Tokyo, Japan.