Harry Potter is celebrating 25 years on the big screen, the eight films are back in French cinemas from 27 August to 3 September, and LEGO is using the occasion to release its biggest Harry Potter box of the year. We reported the announcement yesterday: the Ministry of Magic becomes a Collectors' Edition with 3491 pieces and 14 minifigures. It is only the third Harry Potter box to carry this label, after Hogwarts Icons in 2021 and Gringotts in 2023.

A vertical cross-section over three levels

The approach is the first thing you notice. Instead of a facade, LEGO has cut the building vertically: 51 centimetres high, 35 wide and 15 deep, spread over three levels that you can take in at a single glance. At the top, a piece of Muggle London. In the middle, the Atrium. At the bottom, the Department of Mysteries carved into the rock. No Harry Potter set had shown the Ministry this way before.

The LEGO 76476 Ministry of Magic seen from a three-quarter angle, with its three levels stacked — The street on the surface, the Atrium in the centre, the rocky basement: three settings in one model.

The Muggle street and the entrance through the toilets

The street level is a real surprise. There is an Underground entrance with its Station sign, a departures board, turnstiles, a bench, a tree and even a pigeon sitting on the edge of the pavement. On the right is the red telephone box, the one visitors use to go down into the Ministry in Order of the Phoenix.

But the best idea is hidden right next to it. A staircase goes down under the pavement behind a wrought-iron gate, beneath a sign marked Gentlemen. At the bottom are a washbasin, then the toilet. You stand the minifigure on it, pull the flush, and it drops into the Ministry through the fireplace: the staff entrance from Deathly Hallows, turned into a mechanical function.

Ron Weasley standing on the Ministry toilet, with an arrow pointing to the mechanism lever — The sign on the wall makes it clear: Out of order.

Ron Weasley reappears in the green-flamed fireplace of the Atrium, framed by golden wall lights — The way out: the green-flamed fireplace, at the bottom left of the Atrium.

The Atrium, and the problem with the floor

The feel of the films is there straight away. Dark green walls, tall office towers with red columns ringed in gold, memos flying around as little paper aeroplanes, and the huge black and white banner of Cornelius Fudge hanging over the hall. In the centre stands the golden wizard statue from the Fountain of Magical Brethren. The full fountain, with the witch, the centaur, the goblin and the elf, would obviously have looked better, but the golden figure works well.

In front of it, LEGO has frozen the duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort, wands raised, with two spell effects meeting in the middle of the hall. The scene is a little tame for one of the most memorable fights in the saga, but it holds together.

The duel between Dumbledore and Voldemort in the Ministry Atrium, in front of the golden statue — The duel, the statue and, on the left, Kingsley's lynx Patronus.

One choice is hard to defend: the Atrium floor has been left with exposed studs, without a single smooth tile. In the film, that dark, perfectly polished floor is a big part of what makes the setting look so good. On a Collectors' Edition at this price, it is hard to understand.

The offices behind the facade

The set is meant to be seen from both sides. At the back, the facade opens onto the inner workings of the Ministry. At the top is Dolores Umbridge's office, entirely pink, with her kitten plates hanging on the wall. Just below are the two lift shafts: they are in brick orange, and it is their concertina gates that are gold. The gate opens, but the lift car does not move between floors.

Next comes Arthur Weasley's office, tiny and packed with Muggle objects, with his rubber duck in plain view and the family photo in front of the pyramids on the wall behind. Further down is the courtroom with its tall dark walls trimmed in gold, where Harry's disciplinary hearing takes place at the start of Order of the Phoenix.

The open rear facade of the Ministry of Magic, showing the offices floor by floor — Umbridge's office, the lifts, Arthur Weasley's office and the courtroom.

The Department of Mysteries

The basement is the best part of the model. The whole Ministry rests on large grey rock arches, as if the building had been carved into the stone. On one side, the Hall of Prophecy lines up its shelves of turquoise orbs, and they tip over, as during the battle against the Death Eaters. On the other side is the veil: a stone archway with a rippling curtain, the exact spot where Sirius disappears.

The Ministry's Hall of Prophecy, with its shelves of turquoise orbs and the tipping mechanism — The turquoise orbs stand out well in the dim basement.

Fourteen minifigures, two misses

The cast comes from Order of the Phoenix. First Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius, with a double-sided head for Harry: smiling on one side, shouting with green eyes on the other. Then Kingsley Shacklebolt, Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody and Arthur Weasley. Kingsley comes with the most original piece in the box, his lynx Patronus in transparent blue, which LEGO describes as a completely new element. On the other side are Voldemort, Umbridge, Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eater Antonin Dolohov. And a real surprise to finish: Arabella Figg, Harry's Squib neighbour who testifies at his hearing, as a minifigure for the first time.

There are two misses, though. First, Dumbledore: wrong robe colour, no hat, and a head and hair reused instead of being redesigned. Then the missing characters. No Cornelius Fudge, even though his giant banner dominates the Atrium. No Bellatrix, even though she is the one who sends Sirius through the veil. For a box that shows exactly that moment, it is hard to explain.

The fourteen minifigures from set 76476 lined up, with the transparent blue lynx Patronus — Fourteen characters and a lynx. The Minister is missing.

Our verdict

The LEGO Ministry of Magic displayed on a red console table, under a carved wooden staircase — On display, the model has a real presence.

What we like

The vertical cross-section over three levels, new for this setting
The entrance through the toilets, which really comes out in the fireplace
The rocky basement, the Hall of Prophecy and the veil
The lynx Patronus, and the first Arabella Figg

What we don't like

The Atrium floor left with exposed studs
Neither Cornelius Fudge nor Bellatrix in the box
A Dumbledore made from reused parts
The piece count for the price

The price is the real issue. The obvious point of comparison is the previous Harry Potter Collectors' Edition, Gringotts Wizarding Bank in 2023, which had 4801 pieces. With 3491 pieces, this Ministry has around 1300 fewer, which is hard to accept for a set in the same top range.

Still, the three-level vertical cross-section only exists in this box, with its Department of Mysteries carved out beneath the Atrium. If the price puts you off, there is the first Ministry from 2022. It is not in the same category, with its 990 pieces and two towers, but it already includes the golden statue, the telephone box and nine minifigures: it is a starting point, not a replacement.

The 76476 is released on 1 September 2026, with early access from 29 August for LEGO Insiders members in France. Our comparison tool then tracks prices at partner shops on an ongoing basis.

A Ministry kiosk given away with this set

In France, LEGO is accompanying this release with a promotional product: Ministry Munchies & The Daily Prophet Stands (40901). Its 152 pieces extend the Atrium with the Fountain of Magical Brethren, a newspaper stand and two minifigures, including Cornelius Fudge. The conditions published by LEGO in France are based on a minimum spend on LEGO Harry Potter sets, from 29 August to 6 September 2026, while stocks last, and this Ministry of Magic reaches that threshold on its own. Insiders members who buy it also receive the Ministry of Magic telephone box. Our article details what the kiosk contains.