Modern Warfare 2′s 5-Day Sales: $550 Million

So, was Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 the “biggest entertainment launch of all time?” Yep. Activision Blizzard says the game has earned $550 million worldwide in its first five days of sales. The company didn’t specify how many units that is, but on Modern Warfare’s first day alone, 4.7 million copies were sold in the United States and the United Kingdom. For comparison, consider that Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince pulled in $394 million worldwide in its first five days at the box office, and The Dark Knight’s U.S. box office earnings were $203.8 million after five days.

Call of Duty is king, then, but is the comparison fair? As Kotaku pointed out, you can’t equate movie revenue to game revenue, because a game costs $60, while the average movie ticket price in the United States was $7.20 in 2008. Still, you could argue that one game will satisfy an entire home or college dorm room, while a movie ticket must be purchased by everyone who attends. Of course, then you’re not counting DVD sales, which come later but are still a significant revenue earner for the film industry. No matter how you slice it, big sales of Modern Warfare 2 show how dominant video games have become as entertainment, and that’s pretty sweet. [via CNet]