The Fantastic Beasts saga has 3 released films, 6 hrs 49 in total, spread from 2016 to 2022.
The full checklist: Wizarding World, movies and shows, in release and chronological orderThat comes to 4 evenings of two hours — the median film runs 134 minutes, so an evening swallows one, rarely two.
In release order
- 2016 — Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them — 2 hrs 13
- 2018 — Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald — 2 hrs 14
- 2022 — Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore — 2 hrs 22
The chronological order is the same: the saga was shot in the order it tells itself. That is the simplest possible answer to the question, and it beats a manufactured debate.
Which order should you pick?
Release order, and there is only one. Three films, shot in sequence, across six years. The only advice worth giving here is about something else: the saga was announced as five films and stopped at three. What you are starting has no written ending — the threads opened by the second film are closed nowhere. That is not a reason to skip it, it is a reason to know beforehand.
Is Fantastic Beasts worth the marathon?
Six hours fifty for three films, four evenings: a short saga. It is set seventy years before Harry Potter, in the same universe, with a markedly more adult tone and a slower pace. The three films are very uneven, and the third was written to patch pieces together rather than to conclude — which is audible.
Who it is for
For anyone who liked the Harry Potter universe and wants it from another angle, in four evenings. For anyone who accepts a story that stops without ending. If you want the same thing as Harry Potter, this is not it: less school, more politics, and a far more recessive hero.
FAQ
What order should I watch Fantastic Beasts in? Release order, there is no other.
How many hours does it take? 6 hrs 49 for three films, four evenings of two hours.
Is the saga finished? It was announced as five films and stopped at three: the story stays open.
Last updated: September 27, 2026 — TMDB data verified.