Bookstores, theaters are wild about Harry
11:56 AM PDT on Monday, August 6, 2007
Author J.K Rowling has said her upcoming Harry Potter novel will be the last in the popular series of witchcraft and wizardry.
Bookstore and theater owners probably are hoping Rowling changes her mind.
More than 12 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" have been printed for sale in the United States alone, and bookstores throughout the Inland Empire are planning midnight sales, costume parties and trivia contests when the book goes on sale.
The fifth movie in the series, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," opened July 11.
Barnes & Noble at the Montclair Plaza expects about 2,000 people to turn out at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 21, assistant store manager John Gilkinson said.
As a prelude, the store will hold a costume party for children and a Harry Potter/Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry trivia contest starting at 9 p.m. on Friday, July 20.
Gilkinson and other bookstore owners wouldn't discuss store revenues or how many copies of Rowling's last Potter installment they expect to sell, but they did say they're bracing for large crowds.
"We're going to have about four hours of Harry Potter by the time it's all over," Gilkinson said. "A lot of people buy more than just the new book. They'll buy the fifth or the sixth one or whichever one they don't have."
Prices on hardcover editions of the first six novels have been reduced 20% at Barnes & Noble to encourage sales.
Gilkinson has worked for Barnes and Noble for eight years, a span that includes the publication of the last four Harry Potter novels dating back to "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" in the summer of 1999.
"All of those were big, but this is going to be bigger than any of them because it's the last one," Gilkinson said. "We're expecting 2,000 people, but we could easily get more than that."
The store will have a full staff of about 30 people plus about six extra workers, store spokesman Jim Earhart said.
All 18 of the store's registers will be open, and the store will have plenty of copies on hand.
"That's been a problem in the past with the Harry Potter books, but the publisher [Scholastic] has worked those problems out," Earhart said. "One of the good things about having that many people in line is they pick up other books and end up buying them. I've seen it happen."
The Barnes & Noble at Citrus Plaza near Redlands will sell "Deathly Hallows" to its book club members for 50% off, and non-members will get a 40% discount off the book's $34.99 retail price, store spokeswoman Jill Sweitzer said.
"We don't expect to make a lot of money on the book," Sweitzer said. "We're going to make money off the ancillary things, the [Harry Potter] merchandising and other book sales."
Waldenbooks at Inland Center Mall in San Bernardino will hold a midnight sale for "Deathly Hallows," along with a costume party and spelling bee, but store manager Dave Eckert declined to predict how many people might attend.
The store will add two extra workers to manage the line and handle the costume party and spelling bee, assistant manager Jonathan Gavaldon said.
"After the first one was published ["Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" in 1997] it just took off from there, and every volume has been big," said Eckert, who has been in the book business for 10 years. "But I think this one will be the biggest."
He read the first two "Harry Potter" novels but he's not a big fan of them, Eckert said .
"But they've gotten kids interested in reading, and that's always a good thing," Eckert said. "It's gratifying to see kids standing in line to buy a book. The only thing I can think of that's close to this is Dan Brown's 'The Da Vinci Code.' But even that didn't stir up the kind of interest that 'Harry Potter' creates."
Eckert continues to hope Rowling one day will revive the series, and lines of children and young adults will stand in line at night to buy a book.
"It's all conjecture at this point," he said. "Maybe in five years she'll change her mind. It's fantasy. Anything can happen."
The cinematic version of the literary Hogwarts crew is attracting fans in record numbers. CinemaStar Luxury Theaters in San Bernardino will play "Order of the Phoenix" on two screens, general manager Brian Lind said.
"We've had a lot of people asking about it," said Lind, who declined to discuss ticket sales. "I'm not sure how many [inquiries] we've gotten, but it's been a lot. You know it's going to be big because so many people read the books. And people will want to see this one because it's almost the last one."
Officials with UltraStar Cinemas in Vista expect the publicity surrounding "Deathly Hallows " to inspire people to see "Order of the Phoenix," even people who aren't necessarily Harry Potter fans, said Julie Bravo, UltraStar spokeswoman.
UltraStar is showing "Order of the Phoenix" at its Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana theaters, on two screens each.
