Harry Potter casts his spell on Fabulous Photo Gifts office

Its been Harry Potter this and Harry Potter that amongst the younger members of the family since the release of the newest instalment - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

So to keep the youngsters happy (and us of course) we paid homage and visited our local Odeon cinema at the weekend.

Amidst the popcorn and sweets, we all sat glued to the screen for the 2 and a half hours. We weren't disapointed.

And according to some recent research by Nielson (click here) we weren't alone.

So before you queue for the latests and last book instalment, here's a few figures to keep you going as conjured up by Neilson...

Book sales (Nielsen BookScan): Since 1998, when Nielsen began measuring book sales in the United Kingdom, the six Harry Potter books have sold more than 22.5 million copies in the UK alone. In the United States, the Harry Potter titles published after 2001 have sold more than 27.7 million copies.

Box office sales (Nielsen EDI): Combined, the first four Harry Potter films have grossed more than $3.5 billion worldwide. The first film, "Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone," is the fourth highest-grossing film worldwide.

Advertising (Nielsen Monitor-Plus): In the US, ad spend for all Harry Potter branded merchandise (including books, movies, DVDs and other promotional products) totals $269.1 million from 1998 to date. Outside of the US from 2000 to date, $119.3 million was spent on total advertising for all Harry Potter branded merchandise in Canada, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Switzerland, and the UK.

DVD/video sales (Nielsen VideoScan): All three Harry Potter DVDs/videos - Sorcerer's Stone, Chamber of Secrets, and Prisoner of Azkaban - debuted at No. 1 and remained the No. 1 family film for the first 3 weeks of each release.
Internet traffic (Nielsen/NetRatings): The Warner Bros. "Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix" website drew 446,762 unique visitors in May 2007.

So fear not... you're not alone.