When being the lead of a major movie franchise that has spanned multiple years, there are inarguably some favorite installments that rank higher than others. Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe ranked the movie franchise and was surprised to learn which film was his favorite.
The actor spoke with Josh Horowitz for his Broadway production “Every Brilliant Thing” for a sit-down interview and was tasked with ranking all eight films. Parameters for the choosing were relatively simple, with the actor making his choices based on his own experience and the overall film. The ranking started with a process of elimination in chronological order.
Radcliffe was first asked to choose betweenHarry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, to which the actor chose the latter, having a fondness for the basilisk. Between Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the actor knew many fans preferred the third movie installment. For Radcliffe, it’s the opposite.
“That’s actually tough,” he said. “I know everyone wants me to say Azkaban. I know that’s how everyone else feels, but I love the stuff I got to do on the fourth movie. It was awesome. I’ll take Goblet of Fire.”
When it came down to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix versus Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Radcliffe wasn’t shy to admit that the sixth movie installment was not his favorite of the franchise. He even said it’s “probably the bottom of the bracket for me.” The actor then admitted Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2 was his favorite of the last two franchise installments.
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Which movie surpasses all of them and is his No. 1 pick? Even Radcliffe was surprised when having to rank his picks from each pair of movie installments. In the end, between Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hollows Part 2, the final Harry Potter movie installment took home the win.
“Wow! I’m fascinated. I wouldn’t have said if not… Yeah, interesting. I don’t think I knew Goblet of Fire would have been my second favorite film. Although it would have survived if the bracket were different. It would have gone a different way, ” he said.
While Racliffe may not be returning to the wizarding world, he has given some words of advice to the newcomers at Hogwarts as HBO is gearing up to release the remake series. Dominic McLaughlinwill take on the title role of Harry, alongside Arabella Stanton as Hermione, and Alastair Stout as Ron.
This story was originally published by Parade on Apr 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
