Back to Hogwarts returns on September 1st and this year Italy celebrates in Venice. On the 25th anniversary of The Philosopher’s Stone, the first film also returns to theaters from August 26 to September 2, while anticipation grows for the new HBO series.
Everything is fine September 1stat least for those who grew up waiting for a letter delivered by an owl, summer ends in a very precise way: at eleven in the morning the Hogwarts Express leaves platform 9 and ¾ of King’s Cross and begins a new year at the most famous School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the world. What was simply back-to-school day in JK Rowling’s books has over the years become the Back to Hogwartsa global celebration capable of bringing together different generations of fans through events, screenings and initiatives dedicated to the Harry Potter universe.
In 2026, however, the anniversary will have a particular meaning. They have passed 25 years since the arrival at the cinema of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonethe film directed by Chris Columbus which in 2001 definitively transformed the literary phenomenon into one of the greatest franchises of contemporary pop culture. And while Warner Bros. Discovery prepares celebrations in various countries, from Europe to Asia, the Italian event will be the backdrop Venice.
Back to Hogwarts arrives in Venice
On September 1st the lagoon city will host a special event by invitation dedicated to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the first film. The program includes a celebratory screening of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stonetogether with themed areas and iconic elements of the saga’s universe, in a day designed to at least symbolically recreate the experience of returning to the walls of Hogwarts. The Italian initiative is carried out with the support of Witor’s, LEGO, Panini and Rubies.
The choice of Venice also comes at one of the moments of the year in which international attention on Italy is maximum, transforming the Back to Hogwarts into something more than a simple nostalgic operation. Because if a significant part of Harry Potter’s commercial strength continues to inevitably rely on the Millennials who met Harry, Ron and Hermione between the end of the nineties and the beginning of the 2000s, the franchise is going through a new phase in which the goal is to also speak to those who are only now discovering that saga.
The Philosopher’s Stone go back to the cinema
In fact, the heart of the celebrations remains the film that started it all. From August 26th to September 2nd Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone will return to Italian cinemas for its twenty-fifth anniversary, offering historical fans the opportunity to see Harry’s arrival at Hogwarts again on the big screen and, at the same time, allowing a new generation to see a title known perhaps only through streaming at the cinema.
It is precisely this ability to cross generations that explains why, a quarter of a century later, the world of Harry Potter continues to occupy a space that is difficult to compare with that of other sagas born in the same period. The eight original films are now available on HBO Max and coexist with the three chapters of Fantastic Beastswith the theatrical show Harry Potter and the Cursed Childvideo games, theme parks, studio tours and a licensing system that has transformed Hogwarts into a permanent cultural and commercial universe.
The wait for HBO’s new Harry Potter
The new television adaptation weighs heavily on the future of the saga. The material released by Warner Bros. Discovery links the Back to Hogwarts celebrations to the arrival of the new HBO original series dedicated to Harry Potterpresented as a new exploration of the story that has won over millions of readers and viewers around the world.
It is the most important step for the future of the Wizarding World: not a sequel or even a spin-off, but a new adaptation of the books, inevitably called to deal with films that have in the meantime become part of the collective imagination. If Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have defined the cinematic face of Harry, Hermione and Ron for over twenty years, the series will have to succeed in the most complicated operation possible for a franchise of this scale: preserving memory without becoming a prisoner of nostalgia.
And this is precisely why the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Philosopher’s Stone takes on a different value than a normal recurrence. It simultaneously marks the return to the origins and the beginning of a new phase.
From LEGO to Panini, Hogwarts also becomes a maxi collection
As is now the case with major entertainment universes, Back to Hogwarts will also involve merchandising. Warner Bros. Discovery Global Consumer Products has prepared collaborations for 2026 with LEGO, Colgate, Excélsa, EGAN, Panini, Witor’s, Yamamay and Sodicobuilding a range that goes from collectibles to homeware, from fashion to products dedicated to children.
Among the most interesting news for collectors is the new LEGO Ministry of Magic Collector’s Editionwith 14 minifigures and settings inspired by some of the most recognizable sequences of the saga, alongside new sets dedicated to Dobby, the four Hogwarts Houses and the first film.
Panini instead focuses on con cards Harry Potter Alwaysa new trading card collection built around characters, creatures and places from the magical universe, with different levels of rarity and a limited edition Treasure Box.
From the August 31st a two-week promotion will also start which will allow you to receive, by purchasing Harry Potter products at participating stores, one Limited edition collectible charm. The initiative will involve, among others, Funside, Il Covo del Nerd, Ongame, Egan and some Aelia Duty Free stores in the airports of Rome Fiumicino, Venice Marco Polo and Naples Capodichino.
Twenty-five years later, the Hogwarts Express has never stopped
In the end, this is the most significant data about Back to Hogwarts 2026. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone turns twenty-five, but the saga continues to behave much less like a product of the past than like a still expanding universe. Cinema brings its first chapter back to theaters, Venice celebrates the symbolic day of departure for Hogwarts and HBO prepares the next great generational transition.
On September 1st the Hogwarts Express will once again depart from Platform 9 ¾. And, after twenty-five years, there still seems to be a lot of people ready to climb it.
