Film Opens Another Door for 'Narnia' Sales

(USA Today) – The movie version of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe won't be out until Dec. 9, but dozens of books already are spilling out of the cupboard. "Sales since the Wardrobe movie trailer was released in May are three to four times more than last year at this time," says Beth Bingham of Borders bookstores. She expects the movie's release date to drive holiday sales even more. Borders and other stores nationwide are prominently displaying the books. Amazon.com and Ba-rnesandnoble.com have set up special Narnia stores on their sites. Wardrobe, written by theologian C.S. Lewis and first published in 1950, is part of the seven-book Chroniclesof Narnia series and tells the story of four children who help the lion Aslan release the frozen, other-worldly land of Narnia from the White Witch's spell. HarperCollins Children's Books has 25 movie tie-in products, including books, audiobooks and coloring and activity books. HarperCollins publishes 170 titles by or about Lewis; 140 are on or about Narnia. Other publishers are hoping to take advantage of Lewis' growing popularity by releasing biogra-phies, guides and analytical works. "Certain movies, like Lord of the Rings, do send people back to the books," says Charlotte Abbott of Publishers Weekly "For a lot of people, this is a touchstone for a genera-tion. I imagine many people in their 30s will buy the books, especially box sets, as gifts for their children."

Religion sells!