CALL OF DUTY "Headshots" Hollywood - Again

By Lucas Siegel, Newsarama Editor November 18, 2010 11:45am ET

CALL OF DUTY Headshots Hollywood - Again

For the second year in a row, Activision's Call of Duty franchise has set an entertainment industry record for first five day gross receipts. Call of Duty: Black Ops, developed by Treyarch Entertainment, pulled in over $650 million worldwide in its first five days on sale, Activision Blizzard announced today via press release. This beat Activision Blizzard's own record of $550 million set with last year's Call of Duty installment.

Putting it into perspective, some major Hollywood counterparts of the last two years haven't gotten close to this level. Avatar, James Cameron's mega-hit from 2009, grossed $77 million in its opening weekend, and $750 million total during its 34 weekend release. That's only 100 million dollars more made in 34 weeks than Black Ops made in 5 days.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the current worldwide opening record holder, earned $394 million in its first three days. Black Ops had $360 million in sales in the US and UK alone on day one.

Yes, video games currently cost around $60 versus a movie ticket at $12.50, but there is no denying that video games are big business, and thanks to the Call of Duty franchise, the biggest business two years in a row.

The game also set two records on Microsoft's Xbox LIVE online gaming service. More than 5.9 million cumulative multiplayer hours were logged in Call of Duty: Black Ops on launch day, played by more than 2.6 million unique gamers. That's 673 cumulative years played in one day,

While Activision earlier this year had a public falling out with Call of Duty original developers Infinity Ward's former studio heads, that obviously had zero effect on sales, leaving the franchise in good hands with Treyarch, who previously had alternated installments with Infinity Ward, who developed last year's then-record-setting Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.