Harry Potter book breaks US record

Paul Thornley, Noma Dumezweni and Cherrelle Skeete star in an upcoming play which features a grown up Harry

Labelled as the eighth story in the series, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has become the most pre-ordered book since 2007 in the US.

That's according to bookseller Barnes and Noble, but it's not quite like the other Harry Potter Books.

It's a script for a new sold-out London play, which hasn't fully opened to the public yet.

The play, based on an idea by J.K. Rowling, is set 19 years after Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows so features a grown up Harry.

In it he's an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic and father of three children who is grappling with his past.

Booksellers Barnes and Noble say it's broken the pre-order record of yes, another Rowling book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

The author apparently released the script for the fans who can't get to London to see the play.

There aren't exact figures on the pre-orders, but Amazon Books said Cursed Child was already its top U.S. pre-order in print and on Kindle e-book of 2016.

"For the millions of us who are Harry Potter fans, a new Hogwarts story is a huge event," said Amazon Books editor Seira Wilson.

"I could easily see young fans adapting to the format and using it to act out the play on their own."

More than 450 million copies of the seven original Harry Potter books have been sold worldwide in 79 languages.

The movie franchise has grossed more than $7bn (£5.33bn) worldwide.

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