Halo: Reach becomes 2010's biggest entertainment launch

Xbox 360 game Halo: Reach brought in $200 million in just 24 hours, making it the biggest entertainment launch of 2010.

Triple-A game releases have increasingly overtaken the big box office opening weekend takings of movies in recent years, and the latest instalment of Halo took a staggering £128 million in its opening two days.

"Based on US sales alone, Halo: Reach is now the biggest entertainment launch of 2010 in the US, eclipsingthe three-day opening weekends of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters like Iron Man 2, Alice in Wonderland and Toy Story 3 in a single day," trumpeted Microsoft.

Movie numbers

In recent times, it has taken the likes of Dark Knight and Transformers five days to reach the $200 landmark, although games obviously cost more than the price of a movie ticket.

In box office alone (before sales of DVDs, Blu-ray and TV rights) Titanic took an estimated $760 million, the best selling game in terms of units is believed to be Pokemon with just over 20 million sales, which would suggest that the total revenue ends up smaller in the long run.

"'Halo: Reach is the biggest game Microsoft has ever released, and its launch has already surpassed every game, movie and entertainment launch this year," said Phil Spencer, corporate vice president of Microsoft Game Studios.

"Every major instalment has grown in scope and popularity, firmly cementing the Halo franchise as one of the most popular entertainment properties in the world over the past decade."