"Evanesco" — These Two ‘Harry Potter’ Movies Are Leaving HBO Max

The Harry Potter series is one of Warner Bros. most popular intellectual properties. From the films themselves, merchandise, the Harry Potter TV series, video games, etc., WB makes a ton of money from the world created by J.K. Rowling.

So why are the Harry Potter flicks leaving HBO Max?

Superherohype reported on May 23, 2026, that two Harry Potter films are set to leave HBO Max, but there aren't any from the eight main titles.

Rather, two of the Fantastic Beasts sequels, The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore, won't be available on the streamer starting June 1, 2026.

The movies were largely lambasted by audiences. In part, a lot of the online discourse came from fans who were gobbling up the drama between Johnny Depp and his ex Amber Heard.

The Crimes of Grindelwald featured the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas actor as the primary antagonist opposite Eddie Redmayne.

The Secrets of Dumbledore made a pivot, and Warner Bros. hired Mads Mikkelsen to take over the Dark Wizard's on-camera duties. Mads spoke in support of Depp, calling the man "an amazing actor" and stating that he thought Depp "did a fantastic job."

It appears that Depp's initial libel loss against The Sun newspaper influenced Warner Bros.' decision to ask him to resign in November 2020. A decision that Mads referenced: "Obviously, well, now the course has changed — he won the suit, the court, so let's see if her comes back. He might," he said of Depp's possible return to the Fantastic Beasts series of films.

Other Harry Potter movies have left HBO Max in the past. Variety reported in July 2020 that the series left the service during the first COVID summer. And then it returned to the HBO Max fold in September of 2021.

So why are these two Fantastic Beasts movies leaving HBO Max? It could have to do with licensing deals and box office reception.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them had a reported budget of $175 million to $200 million, with an $814 million box office return. The Crimes of Grindelwald brought in $654.9 million against a $200 million budget, and The Secrets of Dumbledore got $407.2 million against its $200 million reported cost.

It could be that Warner Bros. is looking at different licensing opportunities for these two films in order to squeeze more profit out of them.

Nevertheless, since HBO is owned by Warner Bros. subscribers to the platform were stunned to learn that the movies were departing the service.

But this isn't the first time Harry Potter movies have left HBO max for different online entertainment pastures.Tom's Guide reported that the eight main titles in the series departed from the Home Box Office network for a new home on Peacock in 2022.

In fact, there were several times in the past where HBO Max and Peacock did a licensing switcheroo with the Harry Potter properties. And in 2022 the first two Fantastic Beasts films left HBO Max as well. So it could be that HBO will only temporarily ditch The Crimes of Grindelwald and The Secrets of Dumbledore for a spell, perhaps to get more eyes on its already maligned Harry Potter series.