If you're just talking about money, Rowling has enough at this point to live on, and probably for several generations to live on if they manage the money reasonably well, regardless of whether anyone buys any of her books after this one.
That's a good point, though. Adults might buy a series knowing the lead character dies at the end, if the writing is good enough or they like the rest of the story enough. It seems less likely to me that kids would, or at least most kids.
Rowling has said all along that she would be driven by the story itself, not what other people think of it or whether anyone would buy it. And she has certainly made enough money to be able to stick to this. With the kind of story she's telling, I'd expect the hero to have to make a major sacrifice to defeat the foe. Harry isn't acting like he has a future beyond fighting Voldemort. We'll see... in about two weeks!
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