Arizona’s Favorite Harry Potter Movies

Movie franchises are a touchstone of pop culture, and among the most beloved of the last 50 years is easily the Harry Potter series, based on J.K. Rowling's seven-book journey about a young man who thinks he's nothing special. How could he, living in a cupboard under the stairs, hated by his own aunt and uncle? 

Rowling's books (the first was published in 1997) took off like wildfire, bringing young readers into a magical world full of witches, wizards, trolls and dragons (just to name a few). 

So it's no wonder the eventual film series adaptation (the first film was released in 2001) also took the world by storm. Eight films later (the seventh book was divided into two parts), the franchise didn't just launch the careers of Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint (real fans also claim Robert Pattinson!). It provided arguably 8 classic films for the fanbase to analyze, debate and enjoy. 

As big Potter fans know, our young wizard's birthday was July 31. 

In honor of that upcoming date, BetArizona.com analyzed the most popular Harry Potter movies of Arizona residents by looking at the Google Trends search results of each movie over the past year (July 18, 2023-July 18, 2024). 

BetArizona typically sticks to Arizona sports betting stories, but even we can make an exception for Harry Potter.

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Favorite Harry Potter Movies of Arizona Residents

Arizona Residents Like Where It All Started

Interestingly enough, Arizona residents seem to have a real preference for the first effort in the entire series, as "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" easily topped our rankings by a wide margin. 

This shouldn't be a total surprise, but it does signal a massive amount of positive sentiment for each individual's entry point to Rowling's world. There is no "Chamber of Secrets" or "Prisoner of Azkaban" without Harry's first journey on the Hogwarts Express, or where he first met Ron, Hermione and even Draco Malfoy. 

Another reason we believe the first film easily outpaced the others? There's an entire new generation of parents out there getting their children into Harry Potter, the ultimate compliment to Rowling and the talented filmmakers who brought the Wizarding World to life. 

If you liked this research item, check out other unique efforts from BetArizona, such as: Arizona’s Ultimate Bucket List Items.

USA Today photo by Robert Hanashiro.