The Harry Potter fantasy film series is based on the seven Harry Potter novels by British writer J. K. Rowling, starring Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson.

The Harry Potter film franchise is the highest grossing film series of all time when not adjusted for inflation, with over $5.4 billion in worldwide receipts. The series consists to date (2009) of six motion pictures, all of which (unadjusted for inflation) are on the all time list of 25 highest-grossing films worldwide, with the first and current last two films among the top ten.
The latest installment, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, was released in cinemas worldwide on 15 July 2009.

Warner Brothers is currently producing the seventh and final novel, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which will be split into two parts: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 is due out on 19 November 2010 and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 is due out on 15 July 2011. In an interview, producer David Heyman has stated that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is being treated as one film, with two parts.

Origins

Late in 1997, film producer David Heyman's London offices received a copy of the first book in what would become Rowling's series of seven Harry Potter novels. The book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, was relegated to a low-priority bookshelf, where it was discovered by a secretary who read it and gave it to Heyman with a glowing review. This fateful act led Heyman, who disliked "the rubbish title", to read the book. Highly impressed by Rowling's work, he arranged the process that was to lead to one of the most successful franchises in movie history.latimesblogs.latimes.com/herocomplex/2009/07/when-harry-met-pally-rare-photo-of-day-dan-radcliffe-met-rupert-grint-.html

This led to Rowling's 1999 sale of the film rights for the first four Harry Potter books to Warner Brothers for a reported £1 million (US$2,000,000). A demand Rowling made was that the principal cast be kept strictly British, allowing nevertheless for the inclusion of many Irish actors such as the late Richard Harris as Dumbledore, and for casting of French and Eastern European actors in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire where characters from the book are specified as such. Rowling was hesitant to sell the rights because she "didn't want to give them control over the rest of the story" by selling the rights to the characters, which would have enabled Warner Brothers to make non-author-written sequels.

Although Steven Spielberg initially negotiated to direct the first film, he declined the offer. Spielberg wanted the adaptation to be an animated film, with American actor Haley Joel Osment to provide Harry Potter's voice. Spielberg contended that, in his opinion, there was every expectation of profit in making the film, and that making money would have been like "shooting ducks in a barrel. It's just a slam dunk. It's just like withdrawing a billion dollars and putting it into your personal bank accounts. There's no challenge." In the Rubbish Bin section of her website, Rowling maintains that she has no role in choosing directors for the films, writing "Anyone who thinks I could (or would) have 'veto-ed' him [1] needs their Quick-Quotes Quill serviced." After Spielberg left, talks began with other directors, including: Chris Columbus, Terry Gilliam, Jonathan Demme, Mike Newell, Alan Parker, Wolfgang Petersen, Rob Reiner, Tim Robbins, Brad Silberling, and Peter Weir. Petersen and Reiner then both pulled out of the running in March 2000. It was then narrowed down to Silberling, Columbus, Parker and Gilliam. Rowling's first choice was Terry Gilliam. However on 28 March 2000 Columbus was appointed as director of the film, with Warner Bros. citing his work on other family films such as Home Alone and Mrs Doubtfire as influences for their decision.