Editor’s note: This article compares revenue figures only. The profit margin between video game and film production differs due to the disparity in unit price.
In its short time in theaters so far, Avengers: Infinity War has already proven itself to be a juggernaut, breaking Box Office records. The movie has taken the record for biggest Box Office opening weekend in history, a title previously held by Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It reportedly earned around $725 million in its first five days, and is the fastest movie to hit $1 billion. We’ll have to wait and see what Infinity War ends up taking over its lifetime, but if its progress so far is any indication, it looks set to be one of the top earning movies of all time. This got us thinking about the biggest launches in gaming, and more specifically, how they measured up to Infinity War’s first five days on the market.
Grand Theft Auto V
Games Which Crushed Infinity War’s Launch Figures
Grand Theft Auto V was recently crowned the most lucrative entertainment product in history so it’s no surprise that it also had the biggest launch in gaming history. The game made more in one day ($800 million) than Infinity War did in five ($725.5 million), a testament to just how popular the series is. In its first five days, Grand Theft Auto V raked in $1.15 billion, dwarfing the performance of Marvel’s fastest-selling movie yet.
To date, Grand Theft Auto V has made $6 billion, more than any film in history according to financial services firm Cowen. The game continues to dominate sales charts despite being five years old this year. This is largely due to the game’s ever-popular GTA: Online component, which has earned Rockstar a lot of money through microtransactions and from players purchasing new cosmetic items.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Games Which Crushed Infinity War’s Launch Figures
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 is the best selling game in Activision’s blockbuster shooter franchise, narrowly beating out Call of Duty: Black Ops. The Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games developed title served as a direct sequel to the massively popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, picking up exactly where the final mission left off. The game saw an impressive launch, making $400 million on its first day back in 2011. It went on to sell $775 million in its first five days, around 50 million more than Thanos and his goons.
The Call of Duty series as a whole boasts impressive sales figures, with the last official count putting it at over $15 billion dollars back in 2016, a figure that has gotten even higher since, thanks to the launch of Call of Duty: WWII. For context, the MCU has taken $16 billion over the course of 19 movies. Factoring in $1 billion Call of Duty: WWII made in 2017, it’s possible that the gaming series just about has the MCU beat.
Fallout 4
Games Which Crushed Infinity War’s Launch Figures
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Skyrim would be on this list somewhere but it’s actually another Bethesda game that had the more impressive launch. When Fallout 4 launched in 2015, Fortune reported $750 million in sales on launch day. Bethesda went quiet after that so we don’t have any specific figures for how well it did in its first five days, but given that it either matched or beat Infinity War’s five day total in a single day, there’s a good chance it’s the winner here.
Fallout 4 brought players to the nuclear wastelands of Boston, USA. It introduced a slew of new mechanics including a base builder and fully-voiced dialogue options. The game received multiple updates via DLC packs, with a meaty story-focused add-on titled Far Harbour arriving a few months after the game’s release.
So hats off to Infinity War for smashing box office records and doing so well critically (we loved plenty about it). In terms of sales though, people often underestimate the games industry, with juggernauts like the games above completely crushing the revenue figures of even the most lucrative of movies.
About the author
