NEW YORK, July 23, 2007

"Harry Potter" Book Beats Sales Records

Seventh And Final Volume Sells More Than 72 Million Copies Around The World

  • Play CBS Video Video 'Potter' Book Outsells Movie

    Eight million copies of J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" were sold on its first weekend, outselling the series' latest movie installment. Michelle Miller reports.

  • Video Potter's Fate An Open Book

    Many Harry Potter fans have been reading as fast as 100 pages an hour to get to the end of 'Hallows.' Elizabeth Palmer in London and Michelle Miller in New York have the story.

  • Video Muggles Mad For Potter Book

    In London, the land of Harry Potter, the stroke of midnight brought the long awaited seventh book into the hands of die-hard fans faster than a Firebolt broomstick. Charlie D'Agata reports.

    • Sarah Murrell, left, of Chandler, Ariz., hands out copies of

      Sarah Murrell, left, of Chandler, Ariz., hands out copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., on July 21, 2007. The bookstore sold 1,000 pre-ordered copies by early Saturday morning.  (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

    • Erin Hutchinson, left, and Mary Beth Hutchinson, both of Mesa, Ariz., check out their new copies of

      Erin Hutchinson, left, and Mary Beth Hutchinson, both of Mesa, Ariz., check out their new copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final Harry Potter book, at the Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe, Ariz., on July 21, 2007.  (AP)

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(AP)  Harry Potter has cast a spell on readers throughout the world, who purchased 72.1 million copies of the boy wizard's final adventure, an industry data service said Monday.

Nielsen BookScan said the figures for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" were provisional; full and final figures were due to be released Tuesday.

The company said 2.6 million copies of "Deathly Hallows" were sold in Britain in the 24 hours after it went on sale in England at 7:01 p.m. EDT Friday. The figure breaks the previous record of just over 2 million copies held by the previous Potter volume, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince." It includes sales from book stores, supermarkets, other retailers and Internet sites, but excludes sales to libraries, schools and institutions.

Photos: Harry Potter Fans
"Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final volume of J.K. Rowling's all-conquering fantasy series, sold 8.3 million copies in its first 24 hours on sale in the United States, according to publisher Scholastic Inc.

The book was released around the world Saturday in a carefully orchestrated operation that saw midnight book store openings and long lines of Potter-maniacs. Its initial print run was 12 million in the United States alone.


© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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by cmp271 July 23, 2007 11:00 PM EDT
It is amazing how much money this book generates, all 7 of them. I hope she does something decent with all this wealth? It also shows how overpriced books have become.

The Potter series will go down in literary history. I am sure the church will keep up its vendetta against the book. Much of what is in it is realistic, except the spirits coming out of the wands and the apparating totally.
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