It's time for the The Less Famous Five to give up their crown; a survey has revealed that Harry Potter and his friends are now far better known than Enid Blyton's gang.

The Potter phenomenon - spurred by merchandising for the movie - spans the generations. When adult readers were asked to name a character in fiction, 22% said Harry Potter. Sherlock Holmes, Oliver Twist, and Winnie the Pooh only managed 2% each.

The survey was carried out by NOP for Waterstone's, the booksellers. It showed that when asked to identify Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid and Dumbledore, 42% knew they were the main characters in Harry Potter. Only 26% could identify Julian, Anne, George, Dick and Timmy as the Famous Five.

Nearly half of those surveyed had either read a Harry Potter book or intended to read one, but 97% of those surveyed had heard of him.

The competition was left trailing; 63% knew of Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island; 53% knew of Tiny Tim in A Christmas Carol; 31% knew that Charlie Bucket features in Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; 33% knew that Elizabeth Bennet was the heroine of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice.

Harry is a bigger hit with women (22%) than men (14%) and familiarity was greatest among the 25-35 age group.

Advance cinema bookings for Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone have broken all records. The Odeon chain announced yesterday that advance sales have reached £1m. It is dedicating 225 of its 599 screens to the film in the week after the release on November 16, and has trebled its call centre staff.