New Harry Potter book breaks US sales records

JK Rowling’s new Harry Potter book sold an astonishing 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours – averaging better than 250,000 sales per hour and smashing the US record held by the previous Potter release.

“This is a cause for celebration, not just for Scholastic, but for book lovers everywhere,” said Lisa Holton, president of Scholastic Children’s Books, and author Rowling’s US publisher.

Sales for the sixth instalment of Rowling’s fantasy series easily outpaced those for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which came out in 2003 and sold five million copies in the first 24 hours.

Acknowledging that some shops quickly ran out of books two years ago, Scholastic has already increased the print run for the latest Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from 10.8 million copies to 13.5 million.

The Scholastic numbers are for the US only. Sales figures from Britain are expected later today.

Anticipated from the moment fans finished Phoenix, the new book has been available virtually everywhere, from price clubs and supermarkets to the Scholastic website. Holton yesterday said a big factor in the new sales record was a six-fold increase in the number of Potter bookstore parties, from 800 to 5,000, with both superstores and independent retailers dramatically increasing their participation.

Even allowing for deep discounts, Half-Blood Prince still easily generated more than $100m (€83m) revenue. It’s not only the richest opening in publishing history, but tops the combined estimated take for the weekend’s top two movies, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and The Wedding Crashers.

“When a book beats out movies, we’re in great shape,” Holton said.

Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, said he did not believe that Potter pulled kids away from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which starred Johnny Depp as the reclusive candy king Willy Wonka.