Top-earning fictional characters
October 13, 2003 at 9:35 PM ET
Geri
HPANA (via Forbes)
There is real money being made in the land of make-believe. Not to mention in Middle Earth, 100 Acre Wood and in a galaxy far, far away. According to Forbes, Harry Potter is No. 3 on the Top-Earning Fictional Characters list, earning an income of $2.9 billion, behind Winnie the Pooh with $5.9 billion, and Mickey Mouse with $4.7 billion.
Some notable characters who didn't quite make the list this year, include Homer Simpson, James Bond and Bob the Builder.
Last year, Potter fans spent $860 million to see his second movie and bought 10 million copies of his videogames. Even without a new book release last year, Harry's U.S. book sales toppled that of The Lord of the Rings series. Creator J.K. Rowling earned an estimated $131.4 million in 2002.