Black Ops beats Modern Warfare 2 to become "biggest entertainment launch ever"

Black Ops has beaten Modern Warfare 2's opening day sales to become the world's largest ever entertainment launch with $360 million in revenue in the UK and North America alone.

The 24-hour figure stacks against the $310 million taken by Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in North America and the United Kingdom last year, according to internal Activision estimates.

Call of Duty: Black Ops, marks the second year in a row that the Call of Duty franchise has set day one launch records across all forms of entertainment, Activision said today.

In its first day on November 9, the blockbuster title sold through approximately 5.6 million copies in North America and the United Kingdom, as compared to 4.7 million copies for last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

"There has never been another entertainment franchise that has set opening day records for two consecutive years and we are on track to outperform last year's five-day global sales record of $550 million," said Acti head Bobby Kotick.

"The game's success underscores the pop culture appeal of the brand. Call of Duty: Black Ops is the finest game that Treyarch has ever made and raises the bar for online gameplay by delivering the deepest and most intense Call of Duty experience yet. The Call of Duty franchise has over 25 million players around the world that are engaged in billions of hours of online gameplay, and we are committed to supporting them with new content and features on a more frequent and regular basis."