Game Over

★★ GAME OVER ** VIDEO GAMES DOMINATE Think opening week at the big summer blockbuster is the highest grossing form of digital entertainment? Think again! Video game releases aren't as glamorous as the red carpet, but they consis- tently pull in more money in opening week than Hollywood's finest. Here's a look at how video game sales have stacked up against movie releases for the last 5 years. HOLLYWOOD IN RELEASE WEEK SALES OPENING WEEK THE GAMES VS THE MOVIES Hollywood's last win came in 2006. Since then, video games have consistently clobbered Hollywood blockbusters in first week sales revenue. 2007 HALO 3 $300 MILLION TRANSFORMERS $70.5 MILLION AT WORLD'S END $139.8 MILLION PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX $140 MILLION 2008 GRAND THEFT AUTO IV $500 MILLION IRON MAN $100.8 MILLICON WALL-E $625 MILLION THE DARK KNIGHT $155.3 MILLION 2009 CALL OF DUTY THE TWILIGHT SAGA NEW MOON $140.7 MILLION MODERN WARFARE 2 TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN $112 MILLION $550 MILLION AVATAR $232 MILLION 2010 CALL OF DUTY BLACK OPS $650 MILLION INCEPTION $62.8 MILLION HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS IRON MAN 2 $128.1 MILLION $125 MILLION THE FIGHT FOR 2011: CAN VIDEO GAMES BEAT THE MOVIES AGAIN? THE YEAR'S HOTTEST GAMES (RELEASE WEEK SALES) HAS ALREADY BEEN A BIG YEAR FOR DRAGON AGE 2 Ş41.9 MILLON EST. MORTAL KOMBAT 2011 $55.1 MILLION EST. PORTAL 2 $56.3 MILLION EST. 2011VIDEO GAMES * FALL 2011: HOLLYWOOD WILL WEEP EA BATTLEFIELD 3 (+ CALL OF DUTY: ACTIVISION MODERN WARFARE 3 OCTOBER 25TH NOVEMBER 8TH Both games will be released this fall and will compete for the highest grossing release of the year. EA is pouring more than $100 million into marketing Battlefield 3 in hopes of taking down Call Of Duty for the year's biggest first-person shooter. BUT WILL 2011'S TOP GAME TITLES BEAT THIS YEAR'S BIGGEST BLOCKBUSTERS? THE YEAR'S BIGGEST FILMS HOLLYWOOD'S STRONGEST CONTENDERS HANGOVER PART II PIRATESCARIBBEAN OF THE ON STRANGER TIDES $137.4 MILLION OVER OPENING WEEKEND $90.2 MILLION OVER OPENING WEEKEND Hart Potter TRANSFORMERS DARK |OF THE MOОП ANDTHI DEATHLY HALLOWS OPENING JUNE 29TH OPENING JULY 15TH SOURCES: NEWS.com. Gizmodo, Access Hollywood, NY Daily News, IMDB. E! Online, MTV. New York Times. MSNBC, Box Office Mojo. Business we ek WHighTable.com