There are few properties quite as popular as Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling's Wizarding World has enthralled fans young and old since Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone arrived on bookshelves back in 1997. The beloved novels were eventually given a massively successful film franchise, which brought Harry's adventures at Hogwarts to a new audience, and onto the silver screen. Since then the property has been expanded to theme parks, an upcoming Broadway play, and a new 5 film franchise beginning with Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. But no matter how much Harry Potter is associated with various media, the books will always be what started it all. Now the Harry Potter book series has hit yet another massive milestone.
Put your wands up, because The Harry Potter books have just hit a whopping 500 million copies globally. This number is pretty out of control, and proved how beloved Harry's adventures still remain in the decades since they first arrived. J.K. Rowling's acclaimed novels have been translated to an impressive 80 languages, proving that the themes of friendship and bravery are universal. And to think, Rowling started it all by outlining the Wizarding World on napkins while living close to the poverty line. Pretty inspiring stuff.
News of Harry Potter's impressive milestone, which comes to us from The Bookseller, will no doubt make the generations of Potter fans happy. Fans of the books and movies tend to worship the ground that J.K. Rowling walks on, and are therefore usually very proud of her success. And for all the fans who waited for the midnight release of each new book, it seems the enthusiasm and financial contributions to the series have really paid off in the long run.
The 500 million copy mark also proves that the franchise isn't slowing down anytime soon. Despite the last novel and film being released 2007 on 2011 respectively, the rabid fanbase has remained eager to ingest new magical content. J.K. Rowling delivered this in a big way with Pottermore, an interactive website that allows fans to get a closer look into the events of the beloved novels. Pottermore essentially broke the internet when it first arrived, helping to satiate fans until the new film franchise hit theaters.
The Fantastic Beasts franchise is already off to a major start, which should help the sales of the original novels continue to grow in the coming years. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them helped expand the Wizarding World, debuting as the first in five movies revolving around Eddie Redmayne's Newt Scamander. The second film, The Crimes of Grindelwald, is set to arrive November 16th, 2018 and will feature Jude Law as a younger version of Albus Dumbledore.
Congrats again to J.K. Rowling. We'll just have to see if the acclaimed novelist ends up writing more installments in the universe.
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