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In case you still didn't quite believe it, here's more proof of the gargantuan power of Potter: BBC News reports that Bloomsbury Publishing, the London-based house that puts out the Harry Potter series, saw its annual earnings drop a whopping 74% last year. The primary reason? No new Potter sequels were released. The small independent publisher, which, in addition to Hogwarts architect J.K. Rowling, has had an impressive roster of authors including Margaret Atwood, William Goldman, Jay McInerney and HuffPo's own Nora Ephron, saw its pre-tax profits drop to a mere £5.2 million in 2006, a far cry from the £20.1 million it drew the year before when sixth installment, Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, blazed through bookstores.
Such dire numbers cast a spotlight on the downside of cashing in on one of publishing's biggest successes: Eventually, it all has to end. What happens circa 2009, after Ron and Hermione have eloped to Romania and left Harry to run Hogwarts under the guidance of his freshly-reincarnated parents?* Bloomsbury chairman Nigel Newton is reportedly concocting a strategy to keep business afloat after his magical cash cow hits market saturation, and the house has been busy buying up high profile (and often pricey) works to release in the post-Potter years. Nonetheless, jackpots like Rowling come along just about never, and the bleak numbers from 2005 aren't an encouraging sign. The good news for Bloomsbury is that, while Rowling has declared the end of Potter as we know it, she's hardly put a moratorium on spinoffs. Our money's on Dumbledore: The Early Years - we always knew he'd come back one way or another.
Related:
So What Happens to Bloomsbury Post-Potter? [Galleycat]
*A muggle can dream.
