Do You Understand British English w/o Subtitles?

I’m just curious, but do American people or people in other English speaking countries (except for the UK) understand what the characters are saying in movies or series where they speak British English?

I’m a native Japanese who was born and raised in Japan, yet I prefer to watch anime with Japanese subtitles. I recently watched Harry Potter movies and I’m wondering if people can really understand English with a different accent than their own.

I’ve been learning rather American English in school, so I hardly understand when people speak English with a quite strong British accent... (as well as other strong accents. I can understand English with a strong samurai accent tho XD)

If you’re an English speaker and not from the UK, can you understand everything what the characters say in Harry Potter movies without subtitles?

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MrAverage1965 · 61-69, M

Hi I am British and here in the UK there are many different accents and in truth even British people can struggle to understand people from other parts if the British Isles.
Despite speaking English the Welsh, Scottish and Irish each have their own distinct accents.
In England there are many accents but some of the most difficult to understand are;
Geordie, spoken in Newcastle
Scouse, spoken in Liverpool
Cockney, spoken by some in London
Brummie, spoken in Birmingham

There are many, many others.

ArishMell · 70-79, M

@MrAverage1965 That's even before we consider many Welsh are bi-lingual, also speaking Welsh! (Gaelic speakers are rarer.)

A friend from Dudley, I think, told me at one time people from one side of the Birmingham conurbation, roughly 15 miles across, would struggle to understand ones from the other, yet the individual towns are only a few miles apart!

[Dudley is about 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham.]