Eighth Harry Potter book surpasses one million copies sold in first fortnight

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Little, Brown) has once again taken the Official Top 50 number one spot, with 168,389 copies sold for £1.86m in its second week on sale. Despite an 80% drop on its scorching launch week, the playscript has now shifted 1,016,275 copies since its publication on 31st July and earned over £10m for Little, Brown.

The last title to sell a million copies was E L James’ Grey (Arrow), which achieved the milestone in a relatively sluggish five weeks in summer 2015. In the last five years, only four other books—the original Fifty Shades trilogy and Jamie’s 15-Minute Meals (Michael Joseph), all released in 2012—have sold over a million copies. However, 2016 could see more than one million-copy bestseller: both Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15 (Bluebird) and Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train (Black Swan) still have sales momentum heading into the autumn. The original 2012 edition of Jojo Moyes' Me Before You (Michael Joseph) is also a contender, having sold 741,513 and still racking up weekly sales of around 10,000 copies.

This is J K Rowling’s 71st week as overall number one. Factoring in her three Robert Galbraith number ones, she is now level with Dan Brown for the longest amount of time spent in the top spot. Amazingly, David Walliams’ recent run of 11 weeks with The World’s Worst Children (HarperCollins Children’s) at the Children’s number one saw him leapfrog Rowling, at 70 weeks total to her 68—although Stephenie Meyer still beats them both, on 76.

But Cursed Child is likely to dig its heels in— Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Bloomsbury) spent 10 consecutive weeks in the number one spot in 2000, while Order of the Phoenix racked up seven in 2003. The playscript is already the 18th bestselling Children’s book of all time, and is now a third of the way to the original edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone's (Bloosmbury) lifetime sales.

Aside from the Potter sales bonanza at the top of the chart, the Top 50 remained roughly the same as the week before—both The Girl on the Train and Moyes’ After You (Penguin) held their silver and bronze podium positions for a second week running.

Two new entries from chart veterans James Patterson—with 15th Affair (Arrow)—and Philippa Gregory—with Three Sisters, Three Queens (Simon & Schuster) filled out the top five. Gregory knocked Clare Mackintosh’s I See You (Sphere) off the Original Fiction number one—her 12th week total atop the chart, and her eighth hardback in a row to go straight to the top 20's number one.

Magical Jungle (Virgin), Johanna Basford’s newest colouring book, her second with Virgin since she moved over from Laurence King, went straight into the Top 50 in 39th place. But Joe Wicks’ Lean in 15: The Shape Plan (Bluebird) comfortably held the Paperback Non-Fiction number one for the Body Coach's 30th week in total. Incidentally, a Vintage Classics special edition of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, with illustrations and a cover design by Basford, was also released last week, squeaking into the TCM Top 5,000 and selling 102 copies.   

The Waterstones Non-Fiction Book of the Month, Tim Marshall’s Prisoners of Geography (Elliott & Thompson), continued to scale the rocky face of the Top 50, climbing to 17th last week. Hitting its highest weekly volume yet (7,718 copies sold), its volume has rocketed 222% since the start of August, accounting for nearly half its total volume to date.