What's with the negativity? Do you want it to fail? If so, perhaps it's time you take a break from U2 and this forum. It strikes me as odd that a fan would want U2 to fail, even if you are not a fan of this album (I personally can't stop listening to it - which is something I haven't done since AB).
Also, I recall NO reports stating that NLOTH was to "save" the music industry. It was, however, expected that after the initial burst, NLOTH would remain a steady seller for a while. It's far too early to tell if that will happen, but note that ATYCLB spent a grand total of three weeks in the U.S. Top 10 (if I recall correctly). And yet, it's slow but steady pace of sales eventually led it to 4.2M copies sold. The current climate (both economic and music) will most likely preclude those numbers - after all, the top selling album in the U.S. last year didn't even reach 3M! But 2M may still be possible, and I feel that is a success.
Additionally, "Magnificent" was just released to radio. It's just now gaining some airplay time. It may or may not be a hit, but the fact that it charted in the Hot 100 last week gave NLOTH two Hot 100 hits - something that HTDAAB was unable to accomplish.
Lastly, even if this album reaches "Pop" type numbers, is that so bad? Again, given the economic and music climate of today's world, 1.5M copies is pretty good! U2 have nothing left to prove.