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Harry Potter and the Record-Breaking Release

Mon., Jul. 23, 2007 12:08 PM PDT by Sarah Hall

Millions of speed-readers now know the truth about the fate of their favorite boy wizard.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the seventh and final tome in the spell-casting series, smashed records over the weekend, to become the fastest selling book in history, publisher Scholastic Inc. said Monday.

Within 24 hours of its release Friday at midnight, Deathly Hallows had moved 8.3 million copies in the United States alone, averaging more than 300,000 copies an hour—that's 5,000 a minute.

Deathly Hallows easily edged out J.K. Rowling's last release, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which sold 6.9 million copies in its first 24 hours. In Great Britain, Deathly Hallows sold 2.65 million copies, beating out Half-Blood Prince's record of 2 million.

Amazon.com reported that a record 2.2 million preorders had been placed for the book, while Borders notched its highest sales day ever, with 1.2 million Deathly Hallows sold in its 1,200 stores worldwide on the first day of release.

Even allowing for discounts off the cover price of $34.99 (for example, Amazon.com listed it at $17.99), the book brought in more than $250 million. In comparison, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix has earned $207.5 million domestically since debuting atop the box office last weekend.

As countless muggles frantically flip through the book's 759 pages, Harry Potter's alter ego has other things to celebrate.

Daniel Radcliffe marked his 18th birthday Monday and gained access to a reported $40 million fortune. (His publicist's office claims estimates of the teen star's wealth have been overblown.)

There was no word on how Radcliffe would spend his birthday, though the actor said he planned to make it a low-key affair.

"I'll definitely have some sort of party," he said in a recent interview. "Hopefully, none of you will be reading about it."

Meanwhile, Radcliffe has vowed that gaining control of his riches won't magically transform him into a big spender. "I don't plan to be one of those people who as soon as they turn 18, suddenly buy themselves a massive sports-car collection or something similar," he said.

Part of Radcliffe's motivation to keep a level head is his determination to steer clear of becoming one of those stereotypical fallen child stars.

"People are always looking to say, 'Kid star goes off the rails,' " he told reporters last month, "but I try very hard not to go that way, because it would be too easy for them."

With five Harry Potter films under his belt, Radcliffe has signed on to reprise his boy wizard in the final two films. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince is set for release in November 2008, while Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is expected out sometime in 2010.