This story, written by Potter creator J.K. Rowling along with John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, is actually a script for the theatrical production of the same name playing in London rather than a book. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme parks at Universal Studios in Orlando, Hollywood and Osaka, Japan, are drawing record crowds. The upcoming Fantastic Beasts is not a sequel or a prequel to the Potter adventures, but kicks off 70 years before Harry’s story starts. Over a quarter of the total value of the Top 50 bestselling books of all time has been brought in by the Potter series.
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The stage production in London’s West End is now sold out, but a new batch of 250,000 tickets is being released on Thursday.
The project will see Rowling team up once again with director David Yates, who helmed the final four Harry Potter films as well as this fall’s Fantastic Beasts, which is set to hit theatres November 18. But Cursed Child is still doing better than anything else out there right now.
Unlike previous books in the series, Cursed Child is the script of a corresponding play, which had its official opening night at the West End Palace Theater in London on July 30. Moreover, the director of the final four Harry Potter films and the first film in the new franchise, David Yates, will helm the follow-up.
Scholastic, the U.S. and Canadian publisher of Cursed Child, said the sales figures were unprecedented for a script book.
“After just two days’ sales (it) is already our biggest-selling hardback since Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol in 2009”, Kate Skipper, buying director at United Kingdom bookstore chain Waterstones, said in a statement.
That book sold 1.8 million copies and 780,000 units of the adult edition in the United Kingdom in its launch week, it added.
Great news for all Harry Potter / JK Rowling fans, there’s even more Potter-verse films on the way.
“There’s no doubt about it, this will be our biggest book of the year”, Skipper said in a statement.
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Rowling has written the script for the movie, which will see Newt’s collection of unusual creatures escape, causing trouble for wizards and muggles alike. There’s no competition from Marvel, something which is sure to mean that Warner Bros. execs can now breathe easy.
