Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is the UK’s favourite Harry Potter movie, according to new national research released.
The study, carried out by Showcase Cinemas to celebrate the release of the UK’s number 1 film Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, also sees the character Harry Potter take over 1 in 10 of the votes (13%), as participants elected the bespectacled hero their favourite character from the wizarding world films.
Intelligent sidekick Hermione Grainger landed in second place (10%) and the ever-faithful house-elf Dobby (8%) finished in third, with the likes of Rubeus Hagrid, Albus Dumbledore, Ron Weasley and Fantastic Beasts’ protagonist Newt Scamander missing out on the top three.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (13%) only narrowly took the crown as the nation’s favourite film from the wizarding franchise, as Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban came in closely behind (12%), with almost one in five men preferring the third instalment and 16% of women opting for the first introduction to the wizarding world as their favourite.
The Fantastic Beasts franchise follows ‘magizoologist’ Newt Scamander as he attempts to protect the world from dark magic, with the help of many mythical creatures along the way.
When polled, the UK named dragons (15%) as their favourite mythical creature from the wizarding world franchise, which fans will fondly remember from the Triwizard Tournament in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Phoenixes (14%) narrowly finished in second, whilst the humble house-elf took the bronze spot receiving 13% of the vote.
The beloved Niffler from the Fantastic Beasts series, with its long snout and a coat of black, fluffy fur also made the top ten.
When it came to pets from the magical world, there could only be one winner as over a third (34%) voted for Harry’s snowy owl Hedwig. Hagrid’s three-headed dog Fluffy was chosen by just under a fifth of participants (19%) and Albus Dumbledore’s faithful Phoenix Fawkes came in third (15%).
Over 1 in 5 (21%) participants named Tom Riddle, AKA Lord Voldemort, as the number one villain from the franchise with Helena Bonham Carter’s performance as Bellatrix Lestrange following behind (15%).
Over a fifth of those surveyed named the late Alan Rickman as the number one actor (21%), with Emma Watson’s (17%) performance as Hermione earning her second place and Daniel Radcliffe (15%) following quickly behind. Elsewhere, Eddie Redmayne was named the UK’s favourite actor from the Fantastic Beasts films.
The latest movie, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore has fans debating what truths are to be spilled by the Hogwarts headmaster, and the battle to be named the best actor to take on the iconic role was closely fought. Over a quarter (26%) chose Michael Gambon, thus edging out performances by Richard Harris (24%) and Jude Law (22%).
Mark Barlow, UK General Manager for Showcase Cinemas, said: “The wizarding world has provided us with so many iconic characters, moments and performances throughout the years. It is undoubtedly one of the big screen’s most beloved franchises, which was shown with guests making Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore the UK’s number 1 film this weekend.
“There are many great characters from the wizarding world, however, it seems only fair that the hero and heart of the story – Harry Potter – was named the UK’s favourite.
“The Fantastic Beasts franchise has picked up the baton from the Harry Potter films and given another generation a new story to follow, and we’ve been delighted to welcome guests to Showcase to enjoy the latest film.”
The study also discovered Expelliarmus was voted the UK’s favourite spell from the series, and just under half of participants (49%) wished they could live in the wizarding world.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore is out now at Showcase Cinemas. For more information, head to the Showcase Cinemas website:
www.showcasecinemas.co.uk/
FAVOURITE WIZARDING WORLD MOVIE
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (13%)
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (12%)
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (12%)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (11%)
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (7%)
FAVOURITE WIZARDING WORLD CHARACTERS OF ALL TIME
- Harry Potter (13%)
- Hermione Grainger (10%)
- Dobby (8%)
- Albus Dumbledore (7%)
- Rubeus Hagrid (6.3%)
- Ron Weasley (6.1%)
- Severus Snape (6%)
- Sirius Black (5%)
- Luna Lovegood (4.4%)
- Hedwig (4.2%)
FAVOURITE FANTASTIC BEASTS
- Dragon (15%)
- Phoenix (14%)
- House-elf (13%)
- Unicorn (11%)
- Hippogriff (11%)
- Goblin (7%)
- Niffler (7%)
- Centaur (7%)
- Werewolf (7%)
- Dementor (7%)
