"GTA IV" breaks records, but doesn't take out "Iron Man"

The latest "Grand Theft Auto" game did, indeed, make a mint last week—but not at the expense of the high-flying "Iron Man", despite all the hand wringing in Hollywood.

First, let's look at the just-released sales figures for GTA IV, and yeah, they're huge: $500 million in the first week, with 3.6 million copies sold...on the first day. By way of comparison, Halo 3—hailed at the time as the fastest selling game ever—made a "mere" $300 million in its first week.

Naturally, these massive figures—or the threat of them, anyway—briefly revived the whole "video games will kill the movie business!" thing, with industry watchers worrying last week that GTA IV could put a serious dent in "Iron Man," the Marvel Comics summer epic that bowed last weekend. 

A (supposed) case in point: Ben Stiller's "The Heartbreak Kid," which debuted last September on the same week as Halo 3 and earned only $14 million at the box office.

Well, Robert Downey Jr. and "Iron Man" came and conquered, raking in $102 million in its first week—apparently the biggest haul for a non-sequel film since "Spider-Man" back in 2002.

Huh—OK, but what happened with "The Heartbreak Kid" back in September? I'm just taking a wild stab here, but maybe moviegoers skipped the "Kid" because it was a bad, bad movie.

Anyway, it looks like this town is big enough for the likes of Niko, Iron Man, or whatever summer blockbuster (digital or celluloid) might be coming down the pike.

And a note to Hollywood execs: If your turkey of a movie tanks at the box office, don't blame us gamers.

OK, so give me a show of hands: Who bought GTA IV last week and managed to catch a screening of "Iron Man"? (And how was "Iron Man," by the way?)

Related:
Take-Two's Grand Theft Auto 4 sales top $500 million [Reuters]