On Friday, May 2, “Iron Man” will have a much more worthy opponent than Patrick Dempsey in “Made of Honor.” This is because a mere three days earlier, one of the most anticipated video games of all time is coming out.

“Grand Theft Auto IV,” which will be released on Xbox 360 and Playstation 3, is a game four years in the making. Since “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” came out in 2004, fans across the globe have been holding their breath in anticipation of the official sequel to “Grand Theft Auto.”

Now what does an inferior medium like a videogame have to do with what could potentially be the biggest blockbuster of the summer? Everything. The release of “Grand Theft Auto IV” could single handedly put a dent in the box office receipts of “Iron Man,” reaffirming the fact that videogames have become a legitimate competitor to movie studios.

Take for example the release of “Halo 3” last year. The game came out a few days before the Middle-Eastern thriller, “The Kingdom.” The movie was tracked to open huge, opposite family fare like “The Game Plan.” However, in its opening weekend, the film made a paltry $17 million. And this was when “Halo 3” copies were virtually impossible to come by.

The next weekend after that, Ben Stiller and The Farrelly Brothers released “The Heartbreak Kid” to absolutely disastrous receipts. That October weekend went down as the film industry’s worst performance for an October weekend in eight years.

Arguing that the quality of these films is due to poor box office is ignorant - just look at the number No. 1 film this weekend.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” is one of those videogames that no one is going to be able to stop playing. When “GTA: Vice City” came out five years ago, I don’t think any gamer left their house for months as they tried to accomplish every small, minute goal.

Now with the next-generation systems carrying this title, everything will be improved. The graphics, the sound, the online capabilities – everyone who’s played the franchise before or just starting out will be glued to this game.

The big picture is this: Those who purchase “GTA:IV” will not have time in their intense playing schedule – or money after shelling out $60 - to leave the comfort of their sofa, to drive all the way to the movie theater and devote two hours to a film, while not being able to focus because the only thing they can think about is putting in a cheat code for weapons and running people over with cars.

Paramount is predicting that “Iron Man” will earn between $60-$70 million during its first weekend of release, which really means they expect it to earn in the $80–$90 million range but are playing it safe. It will surely open with more than a respectable $40 million, but how high it goes depends on if “Iron Man’s” key demographic puts the controller down.

In a few short weeks, depending on the box office gross of “Iron Man,” it may be finally apparent that instead of releasing a film on a strategic weekend against a chick flick, studios may want to consider the ever-looming threat that videogames will finally be considered a major competitor to films, if they haven’t already.

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