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Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire (2005).
Top of the class … Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros
Top of the class … Alan Rickman, Rupert Grint and Daniel Radcliffe in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). Photograph: Allstar/Warner Bros

Harry Potter again tops poll of best book-to-film adaptations

This article is more than 7 years old

JK Rowling’s series remains cinemagoers’ favourite ahead of multiple works by Stephen King and JRR Tolkien

Harry Potter has again topped a poll by Odeon to find the best-loved book-to-film adaptations, with 32% of 2,000 cinemagoers placing the series in their top 10. The result echoes a similar survey in March 2015.

However, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was a surprise entry at No 2 (it didn’t feature last year), with 30% of respondents citing it in their top 10. The Shawshank Redemption, meanwhile, took third place, with 28%.

That novel was the first of two by Stephen King in the top 20 – The Green Mile came in at No 7 – while JRR Tolkien also placed for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Young adult and children’s series scored especially well, with room for The Hunger Games alongside classics such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Jungle Book.

Jon Favreau’s recent acclaimed CGI version of Rudyard Kipling’s adventure may have refreshed it in the memories of film-goers. Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones series also featured – the latest instalment is currently topping the global box office.

Odeon commissioned the poll to tie-in with the imminent release of The Girl on the Train and Inferno in the coming weeks – two other book to film adaptations.

Notable no shows included the Twilight series, The Da Vinci Code and Schindler’s List.

UK’s top 20 book-to-film adaptations

1. The Harry Potter series (JK Rowling)
2. A Christmas Carol (Charles Dickens)
3. The Shawshank Redemption (Stephen King)
4. The Lord of the Rings saga (JRR Tolkien)
5. James Bond series (Ian Fleming)
6. The Bourne series (Robert Ludlum)
7. The Green Mile (Stephen King)
8. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (Roald Dahl)
9. The Hobbit (JRR Tolkien)
10. Forrest Gump (Winston Groom)
11. Bridget Jones’s Diary series (Helen Fielding)
12. Jurassic Park (Michael Crichton)
13. The Chronicles of Narnia series (CS Lewis)
14. The Jungle Book (Rudyard Kipling)
15. The Godfather (Maria Puzo)
16. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Ken Kesey)
17. The Hunger Games trilogy (Suzanne Collins)
18. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
19. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll)
20. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Steig Larsson)

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