SINGAPORE - Television network HBO will be airing a back-to-back marathon of all eight Harry Potter movies this December before showing the hit magic series' prequel Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them in an Asian television premiere.

It will be the first time all eight original Harry Potter films are shown on a single network, commercial-free, HBO Asia said in a statement on Friday (Dec 8).

The marathon, which runs for nearly 34 hours, begins on Dec 15 at 1.25pm with the first film in the series: Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone (2001).

After the second part of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows (2011) airs at 6.50pm on Dec 16, the channel will air its Asian premiere of Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them at 9pm, ending around 11.15pm.

The marathon, which will take place next weekend, will be aired on StarHub TV Channel 601. Viewers can also stream the movies on demand at Channel 602.

The films are based on a series of books by British author J.K. Rowling, which follow boy wizard Harry Potter through his adventures in Hogwarts, a wizarding school.

The eight-film adaptation starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint has earned US$7.7 billion (S$10.4 billion) in box office sales and catapulted the actors to stardom.

The series of seven books has been distributed in more than 200 territories, with more than 400 million copies sold around the world.

Harry Potter marked his 20th anniversary on June 26. Rowling's first book in the series, Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, was published on June 26, 1997.

The books have spawned theme parks, exhibitions, a play and merchandise, turning Rowling from a single mother living on state benefits to a multi-millionaire.

The next instalment of the prequel series, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes Of Grindelwald, is scheduled to be released next year.