Harry Potter and the Latest Blockbuster Book Launch

Wade Munson likes movies as much as the next 16-year-old.

But while other teens will be flocking tonight to "Fantastic Four" and "War of the Worlds," he will opt for a different kind of blockbuster, the book "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince."

The sixth installment in J.K. Rowling's fantasy series about a boy wizard goes on sale a minute after midnight. Retail industry analysts expect the book to sell more than half its initial press run of 10.8 million copies this weekend -- a groundbreaking debut.

Large retailers, online and off, have slashed as much as 40% off the $29.99 list price. But even with such steep discounts, sales could rival this year's top weekend movie opening, "Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith," which grossed $108.4 million when it opened in May.

"This is a book launch that is so monumental it begs comparisons to the opening of a movie," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Encino-based box-office tracking firm Exhibitor Relations Co. "That in itself is unprecedented."

Retailers are fanning the frenzy with at least 5,000 parties across the United States that will lead to the witching hour when "Potter" fans can start getting their hands on their copies. Muggles (if you have to ask, you're not a wizard) by the hundreds of thousands are expected to show up for the festivities. And retailers figure that those customers will buy other stuff while they are waiting.

"It's like a kid's New Year's Eve," said Barbara Marcus, executive vice president for Scholastic Inc., the "Harry Potter" series' U.S. publisher. "This is the biggest retail reading event ever."

It's not clear, however, how much of the sales bonanza will sift to the bottom line, given the slashed prices and additional costs associated with the launch.

Because booksellers typically acquire titles at a 40% discount from publishers, retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. might be lucky to break even on "Half-Blood Prince," said Steven Zeitchik, senior news editor at Publishers Weekly.

"I would guess that it's going to be very tight for them," he said.

But analysts say businesses can benefit from sales of other merchandise they will be hauling in for the occasion, including earlier "Harry Potter" books.

The series follows the adventures of an orphaned wizard who discovers his magic powers and ditches his abusive aunt and uncle to attend Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he learns life's lessons and fights the forces of evil.