Harry Potter Notches a Record 19-Year Streak Through 2026 — A Feat George R.R. Martin Has Yet to Match
By 2026, it will be nearly 20 years since the saga ended in 2007 — and Harry Potter still dominates bestseller lists, with Philosopher’s Stone leading the pack.
Harry Potter has been around long enough to make me feel ancient. The last book hit shelves in 2007, which means that by 2026, we’re staring at almost 20 years since the story officially wrapped. And yet, somehow, the books are still everywhere and still selling like they never left.
So, how big is Potter, really?
Guinness World Records lists Harry Potter as the best-selling book series ever, with over 600 million copies sold worldwide. If you zoom in on the individual books, the estimates often cited go like this: the first one, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone', sits around 120 million, 'Chamber of Secrets' around 77 million, and each of the remaining five entries is commonly pegged near 65 million. However you slice it, that’s a ridiculous level of staying power.
Why the sales never really stopped
Walk into basically any bookstore and you’ll still see the full seven-book lineup—paperbacks, boxed sets, special editions with new art, you name it. There hasn’t been a new main series novel in nearly two decades, but that hasn’t mattered. Parents who grew up with the books hand them to their kids without thinking twice. Meanwhile, the TV reboot announcement and fancy new audiobook releases keep pulling in fresh readers who missed the initial wave.
A big advantage: the story is complete. No waiting years for the next chunk of plot. You can grab all seven, read at your own speed, and circle back whenever nostalgia hits. Plenty of other fantasy staples have been rebooted—'The Lord of the Rings', 'The Wheel of Time', 'Percy Jackson & the Olympians'—but none of them have reignited cross-generational book buying on the same scale.
TV helps... but it’s not the whole story
'Game of Thrones' was a cultural supernova, and every new season sent George R.R. Martin’s book sales soaring. The spikes were real—and then they cooled off when each season ended. The last main GoT book landed in 2011, and with the series still unfinished, a lot of readers decided to wait before committing to the full set. None of that erases how enormous the show was, but in terms of book sales longevity, Potter has that steady, year-after-year appetite you can’t manufacture with one big moment.
Potter vs. everybody else (numbers edition)
If you like scoreboards, here’s how Potter stacks up against other mega-selling series. Heads up: this is a broader mix of genres (not just fantasy), and the figures are rough estimates that get repeated a lot. The ordering is... let’s call it quirky, but the scale is the point:
- Harry Potter — J.K. Rowling — 600 million
- Goosebumps — R.L. Stine — 400 million
- Perry Mason — Erle Stanley Gardner — 300 million
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid — Jeff Kinney — 300 million
- Berenstain Bears — Stan and Jan Berenstain — 260 million
- Choose Your Own Adventure — Various — 250 million
- Sweet Valley High — Francine Pascal and ghostwriters — 250 million
- Jack Reacher — Lee Child — 200 million
- The Railway Series / Thomas & Friends — Wilbert and Christopher Awdry — 200 million
- Noddy — Enid Blyton — 250 million
What’s next for Hogwarts
HBO’s new Harry Potter series is expected to arrive in 2027, which will almost certainly bump the books again. Because that’s what happens: new screen adaptation shows up, and a whole new wave of readers goes hunting for the source material.
Where to watch
Harry Potter movies are streaming on Peacock. All seasons of 'Game of Thrones' are on Max in the US.
Think any fantasy series will ever match Potter’s ridiculous run? Drop your pick in the comments.