‘Grand Theft Auto V’ Has Made More Money Than Any Movie Or Video Game Ever

This is just mind-boggling.

Grand Theft Auto V has been criticized for depicting torture, graphic sex, and misogyny. But it’s recently been revealed that the controversial game is now the most moneymaking entertainment title of all time — and that’s including movies and video games. 

That’s right, GTA 5 has racked up an astonishing $6 billion in sales, easily crushing anything from Star Wars universe or the Marvel or DC superhero stable. 

Marketwatch has all the crazy financial details here: 

Since it’s launch in 2013, “GTA V” has sold 90 million units, putting its total haul for publisher Take-Two Interactive Inc. in the neighborhood of $6 billion—far above the success of blockbuster movies like “Star Wars” or “Gone With The Wind,” which both collected more than $3 billion, adjusted for inflation. 

Even taking into account DVD and streaming sales would not put the biggest movie blockbusters in GTA V’s neighborhood, said Cowen analyst Doug Creutz, estimating those sales might add up to $1 billion to the films’ totals.

“I think it’s a wild outlier,” Creutz told MarketWatch in a phone interview. “I think maybe with the exception something Nintendo has made—Mario Brothers—but aside from that there’s never been a console game that’s sold so many units.”

The report also indicated that video game growth is far outpacing that of the flagging film industry, which has been deeply affected by the rise of Netflix and other streaming services.

By comparison to making films and other media, videogames are a lucrative and profitable industry, in part because the medium itself lends itself to a data-heavy approach in terms of what is and is not working to boost profits. In 2017, consumers spent $36 billion on videogames, up 15% from the year earlier, according to NPD Group data. Box office sales improved 3% globally to a record total of almost $40 billion, though domestic returns declined and prompted questions about cinema chains and film-production companies.

It seemed like just yesterday that Grand Theft Auto V was beating out Wii Sports to become the best-selling game of all time, and now the number crunchers are saying it’s just the biggest entertainment title ever. Wow. Just wow. 

Too bad Lindsey Lohan just lost her lawsuit against the creators of the ultra-popular game for supposedly using her likeness. We bet she could use the extra cash.