Summary

The Harry Potter films outperformed the Percy Jackson movies both at the box office and in terms of overall quality and faithfulness to the source material. The Percy Jackson Disney+ series has a larger budget and shows significant improvement in terms of special effects and characterization compared to its film predecessors. In a physical fight, Percy Jackson would likely defeat Harry Potter due to his combat skills, ability to control and manipulate water, and experience facing various adversaries.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the whole Percy Jackson vs Harry Potter debate started, but this battle has been ongoing for years. The fans are understandably passionate in their love for their respective series. This passion applies to defending the writers, the main characters, and claiming who would win in an actual fight. Due to how heated these debates can get, it’s clear how much people love both the Percy Jackson and Harry Potter franchises. It expresses how both series have impacted audiences young and old throughout the years. Everyone has their biased opinions, and they are completely valid.

But, sometimes, you have to put your personal opinions aside and look at the facts. It’s time to settle this debate once and for all. Which franchise is better overall? Is it Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived in J. K. Rowling’s Wizarding World? Or will it be Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson, the son of the Sea God?

Comparing the Big-Screen Adaptations

When it comes to films, the Harry Potter series comes out on top without much competition. The Harry Potter movies adapted their books far better than the Percy Jackson movies did. The setting, the characterization, and the magic came to life on screen better than in the PJO films. Not to mention that the Harry Potter franchise dominated the box office over The Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters. Take the first films of the franchises: The Lightning Thief and The Sorcerer’s Stone. The table below compares just some information about the box office numbers of the first films.

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010) Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001) Production Budget $95,000,000 $125,000,000 Domestic Opening Weekend About $31,000,000 About $90,000,000 Domestic Box Office About $88,000,000 About $318,000,000 International Box Office About $135,000,000 About $645,000,000 Worldwide Box Office About $223,000,000 About $963,000,000

The domestic box office numbers show the total money earned for each film over the course of 124 days — and this is just the first film in each franchise. What do these numbers mean? Other than the obvious that The Sorcerer’s Stone triumphed over The Lightning Thief, it also shows that, since Harry Potter had a bigger budget, the franchise had more legroom for special effects and the like. Had the Percy Jackson films had a budget similar to that of Harry Potter (plus if they actually had Riordan on board), they would have had a better chance of competing.

What does that mean for the Percy Jackson Disney+ series? Well, the budget for the show is bigger, for starters. The confirmed budget for the series is between $12 and $15 million per episode. With eight scheduled episodes in the first season alone, that totals more than the budget of The Lightning Thief (between $96 and $120 million). In just three episodes, we are already seeing drastic improvement from its film predecessors in both quantity and quality. The special effects, costumes, and makeup are already ten times better than in the films. For example, the snakes in Medusa’s hair are incredibly realistic. Moreover, the campers are diverse in so many ways, perfectly transferred from the books to the small screen. In time, we might see the streaming series catch up with the success of the Harry Potter franchise.

How Faithful Are the Adaptations?

The faithfulness of the adaptations is a more even match between Harry Potter and Percy Jackson today than it was in the early to late 2010s. When Percy Jackson was first adapted into two films, the author was not consulted or included in the production of the movies, and, as a result, the movies didn’t capture the magic of the books. But now we have the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series on Disney+, which follows the novels much more closely.

Importantly, even the things that have been changed have been done in a way that adds to the world rather than detracting from it. Take, for example, Sally Jackson’s relationship with her husband Gabe. She is a victim of abuse in both the show and the first book, but readers noticed her character change immediately. Sally still loved and defended Percy from Gabe as much as she could, but in the first book, she fell under the typical abuse victim characterization: quiet, soft, and catering to Gabe’s every need. In the Percy Jackson show, Sally is more forthright. She matches Gabe’s energy and stands her ground for both her son and for herself. Neither way is necessarily correct, but the difference between the books and the show allows for a variety of interpretations of the character.

The Harry Potter films did a much better job with their source material than the PJO movies. With its budget and wonderful cast of talented actors, the Harry Potter movies captured the magic that is the Wizarding World. Fans know that, as the books go on, they start to get longer and longer. This works for some, but others argue that certain books drag on. Warner Bros. did a great job with managing the length of the films while keeping them as close to the books as possible. Unlike the Percy Jackson movies, the Harry Potter films made sure to let you know that students at Hogwarts are children. They may be learning magic and preparing themselves for something dangerous, but they still find the time to just be kids. Getting excited over Christmas presents, gossiping, doing club activities, and participating in sports.

Related: David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived | Daniel Radcliffe’s Stunt Double Gets an Emotional and Inspiring Documentery

In the end, Percy Jackson and the Olympians is more faithful to the book series than the Harry Potter films. The characterization of the PJO trio is more on point than that of Harry Potter’s Golden Trio. While changes were made in the PJO series to improve it (like Luke and Annabeth’s brother-sister relationship instead of Annabeth’s crush on him in the books), important plot points in the Harry Potter books were not implemented in the films (like Hermione’s continuous efforts to free the elves from slavery). The relationships between the characters feel more real in Percy Jackson than in Harry Potter as well. The tension between Percy and Annabeth as they try to work together is acted out beautifully. Meanwhile, the building friendship and romantic relationship between Harry and Ginny was lackluster at best.

Who Would Win in a Fight?

Percy would clobber Harry, no questions asked. Both of the characters are strong in their own ways and start out with the same amount of knowledge. They are both twelve-year-old troublemakers when they are pulled out of their mortal worlds and lives and into a world that any normal person would see as incomprehensible. For Harry, it is the fact that he is a wizard. Percy, however, learns that he is the demigod son of Poseidon and that the Olympian gods exist. They both adapt to their new respective worlds rather quickly, with Harry seeming to adapt quicker than Percy. They have trained to be the powerful characters we know today.

But all Harry has is his magic. Which he cannot even use without his wand. Yes, he grows to be an exceptionally skilled wizard, powerful enough to defeat Lord Voldemort. Harry only lived because his mother sacrificed herself, the magic of her undying love for her son, temporarily vanquishing the Dark Lord. The only type of magic that Harry really excels at is the spells he learned in Defense Against the Dark Arts. In the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Harry grows up to be an auror (a wizard cop), so his magical combat skills have proven him capable of landing such a job. He may have some survival instincts, but his magic alone just isn’t enough to win a physical fight.

Percy is incredibly skilled with a sword. His ADHD helps him with combat, to keep his focus on his opponent and whatever is going on in the background without it being confusing. He can dodge and weave almost with ease while maneuvering to strike at his enemy. That’s all without the powers he has. Whenever he is in water, his battle wounds heal, and he is stronger than ever. He can control and manipulate water as well, generating massive waves. It might be an even match at first between Percy and Harry. But Percy is a warrior who has faced all different kinds of monsters, gods, and demigods who can fight like him or use magic like Harry. It wouldn’t take long for the demigod to overpower the wizard.

Related: Former Percy Jackson Actor Gives Seal of Approval to Walker Scobell in Disney+ Revival Series

In the end, Percy Jackson prevails. This isn’t to say that Harry Potter as a character and franchise is bad. It’s been out longer than Percy Jackson as both a book and a film series. There was already a steady Harry Potter fanbase before Riordan even began Percy Jackson. Readers today are still entranced by the magical world of Harry Potter, and both franchises are incredible in their own rights. But for the sake of this debate, Percy comes out on top. Stream Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+ and Hulu.