{"id":538609,"date":"2026-07-22T12:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/538609\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T12:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T12:59:08","slug":"harry-potter-back-to-hogwarts-marks-25th-anniversary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/538609\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Harry Potter’ Back to Hogwarts Marks 25th Anniversary"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWarner Bros. Discovery has unveiled its 2026 \u201cBack to Hogwarts\u201d program, a global celebration marking the 25th anniversary of \u201cHarry Potter<\/a> and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone\u201d with a weeklong theatrical re-release, live fan events across four global regions and new glimpses of the upcoming HBO Original series.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe celebration centers on Sept. 1, the date on which students traditionally return to Hogwarts in the \u201cHarry Potter\u201d stories, a tradition WBD has turned into a yearly global event uniting fans in cinemas, at live gatherings, online, in stores and at home.<\/p>\n

\n\tAs part of the anniversary, \u201cHarry Potter and the Sorcerer\u2019s Stone\u201d \u2013 released internationally as \u201cHarry Potter and the Philosopher\u2019s Stone\u201d \u2013 returns to theaters for one week with 12 minutes of previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage. Separately, all eight \u201cHarry Potter\u201d films will screen in theaters worldwide from Aug. 27 through Sept. 3.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn London, HBO Max is staging its first-ever Back to Hogwarts celebration on Sept. 1, timed to build anticipation for the HBO Original series\u2019 Christmas debut. The one-day fan event will include interactive moments and giveaways inspired by the new series, with location and ticketing details to be announced. WBD says fans should not expect any event, countdown or announcement that day at King\u2019s Cross Station, and is urging fans to skip a trip there.<\/p>\n

\n\tAdditional live celebrations are planned in France, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Australia and Japan. Highlights include a large-scale wand lesson staged in the Orangerie Gardens at Paris\u2019 Ch\u00e2teau de Versailles, choreographed by Paul Harris, a celebratory screening in Venice, fan festivities in Madrid and Sydney, an event in Berlin, and anniversary activations in China featuring the \u201cOwl Messenger\u201d installation.<\/p>\n

\n\tTheme park activity runs Aug. 1 through Sept. 1 at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood, including anniversary experiences and the return of the \u201cHogwarts Always\u201d projection show at Orlando\u2019s Wizarding World of Harry Potter \u2013 Hogsmeade. Universal Studios Japan will offer select guests after-hours access to its Wizarding World area on Sept. 1, while Universal Beijing Resort will debut its own \u201cHogwarts Always\u201d projection show alongside a Gathering Night event on Aug. 28.<\/p>\n

\n\tWarner Bros. Studio Tour London \u2013 The Making of Harry Potter will mark the day with an 11 a.m. announcement broadcast repeated every 30 minutes at Platform 9\u00be. The tour is running a competition for a personalized Hogwarts trunk autographed by cast members Bonnie Wright, Mark Williams, James and Oliver Phelps, plus two tickets to visit on Sept. 1. Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo \u2013 The Making of Harry Potter will hold its own countdown event and photo opportunity. In North America, Harry Potter Shop New York and Harry Potter Shop Chicago will host 11 a.m. countdowns and sell a new Back to Hogwarts collection.<\/p>\n

\n\tMobile games are joining in as well, with \u201cHarry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery\u201d adding new adventures and rewards, and \u201cHarry Potter: Puzzles & Spells\u201d running its own countdown events.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe program culminates in the annual Back to Hogwarts Showcase, streaming live on Sept. 1 via the official Harry Potter YouTube and TikTok channels with announcements from across the franchise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Warner Bros. Discovery has unveiled its 2026 \u201cBack to Hogwarts\u201d program, a global celebration marking the 25th anniversary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":538610,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,510,409,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-538609","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-movies","tag-entertainment","tag-harry-potter","tag-movies","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538609","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538609"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/538609\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/538610"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538609"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=538609"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=538609"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}