Activision’s video game ‘Call of Duty’ grosses in $1-bn in 16 days

While it took director James Cameron's film Avatar 17 days to gross $1billion at the box office with its 3D blue-skinned aliens in the film, a different set of virtual fighters have left it behind.

The latest installment of the video game series, Call of Duty, has emerged as the fastest-selling entertainment product yet, hitting $1billion in sales through retailers in only 16 days, leaving behind the latest Harry Potter film which took 17 days to hit the billion-dollar mark in August. It left in dust Cameron's earlier blockbuster Titanic, which took three months to pass the billion-dollar mark.

According to California based, Activision Blizzard, the latest in its mega-selling franchise, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had notched up $400 million in sales within 24 hours of launch on 8 November.

Bobby Kotick, CEO, said Call of Duty as an entertainment franchise had made an indelible mark on popular culture. He added, Call of Duty was now amongst that rarified group of sustained franchises like Star Wars, Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings and the National Football League that attracted or engaged tens of millions of people every year or every new release.

Modern Warfare 3's 2010 predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops, took almost two months following its launch to hit the $-1 billion mark.

Modern Warfare 3 is based on a fictional war waged by Russian ultranationalists against the US and western Europe. The game, which allows players to take on the role of combatants in the conflict – received critical acclaim and made $775 million in its first five days.