‘Fallout 4’ Surpasses ‘Black Ops III’ as Biggest Media Release of the Year [UPDATED]

Fallout 4 just blew the vault door wide open with the biggest entertainment launch in any medium this year.

For reference, the megalithic success of Jurassic World banked more than $524 million on it’s opening weekend. It was one of the biggest movie releases of all time, and cinema-goers packed into theaters with record abandon.

Just a few months later, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 handily wiped the smirk from Indominus Rex’s face with a three-day launch period totaling more than $550 million on its own. Over the course of that weekend, video games once again affirmed themselves as the single biggest entertainment industry in the world.

But even cyborg super soldiers withered in the face of Fallout 4‘s nuclear strike. In just 24 hours — not even the 72 hour windows of the previous two — Bethesda’s latest entry in the renowned post-apocalyptic franchise had already made more than $750 million. That’s three-quarters of a billion dollars in one day.

No word yet on whether the sheer weight of the loot collected has made Bethesda executives too encumbered for fast travel.

**UPDATE** An Activision representative reached out to us with a clarification. While still very impressive, Fallout 4’s sales numbers are based on “sell-in” numbers, which is a measurement based on units shipped to retailers. The Call of Duty: Black Ops III figures are “sell-through” numbers, which are based on what games actually made it into customers’ living rooms.

The comparison may not be as direct as it appears on the surface, but one thing’s certain: gaming has taken over the entertainment industry for yet another holiday, even though the gift buying season has only just begun.

Nate Church is @Get2Church on Twitter, and he can’t become a wildly overhyped internet celebrity without your help. Follow, retweet, and favorite everything he says. It’s the Right Thing To Do™!