Harry Potter sells 170,000 in three days

After its much anticipated release on July 31, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child generated sales of 170,000 copies of its Australian print edition within the first three days alone, according to publisher Hachette Australia.

To put these figures in perspective, Hachette says in 2015 only five books in the Australian market managed to sell over 170,000 copies in the entire year.

Managing director Louise Sherwin-Stark says, “This is a phenomenal number and makes Harry Potter and the Cursed Child the biggest book in the Australian market since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in 2007, and the fastest-selling script book ever.”

The muggles at Griffin Press won the contract to print the book, which has been labelled the book of the year by Dymocks senior category manager, Sharyn Villaverde.

“We have had an unprecedented response to the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child with our biggest first day sales in nearly a decade,” she says.

“It has eclipsed all pre-order and first day sales since the release of the last book in the Harry Potter series, with first day sales well beyond titles such as Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol and Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman

“Customers of all ages are excited about it and we are expecting really strong sales right through to Christmas.” 

Even online retailers such as Booktopia were taken by surprise from the rush of pre-orders. 

Booktopia chief buyer John Purcell says despite placing their largest ever bulk order of 6,000 copies, they still ran out.

Purcell adds, “But then, as publication day approached we realised we were way out and had to order more. We added another 2,000. And even then we sold out. The day after publication we placed another bulk order and three days later another.

“We are about to hit the 10,000 mark which is massive for us. We are the company that can get you every book in the world, so we do not often get these spikes because we have so many books. We are happy people are choosing us to give them a top seller in such numbers.”

The Harry Potter series spans seven novels, and has sold more than 450 million copies around the world. It was also turned into an eight-part film series, which grossed more than $8bn.  

 

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