'Potter' sells 8.3 million in 1st 24 hours

NEW YORK, July 22 (UPI) -- The new Harry Potter book sold 8.3 million copies in the United States during its first 24 hours on sale, The New York Times reported Sunday.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the seventh and final installment of the immensely popular series by author J.K. Rowling, officially went on sale at midnight Saturday.

First-day sales for "Deathly Hallows" exceeded the 6.9 million copies of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince," the sixth book in the series, which came out two years ago, the Times said.

The figures showed that the numerous leaks before the release, including photos of pages that circulated on the Internet, failed to significantly affect sales.

Many booksellers across the country threw parties Friday night in anticipation of the book's release.

Scholastic Inc., the book's U.S. publisher, said the new figures bring the number of Harry Potter books in print in the United States to 133.5 million.