LOS ANGELES – On a cloudy Friday afternoon in west Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, about 50 people were waiting to buy a video game that wasn’t supposed to go on sale for four days.

“Do you have it yet?” asked an eager customer to an employee of the store. The object of his desire, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2,” officially launched the next Tuesday, but demand was so high, despite the recession that has crimped consumer spending, many stores started selling it as soon as shipments arrived.

“I’m definitely buying fewer games this year, but I knew I was going to buy this one as soon as I could,” said 28-year-old Jeff Katayama, a self-described “Call of Duty freak” who drove 20 miles to pick up the game early.

Thanks to Katayama and millions like him, “Modern Warfare 2” generated a record-setting $550 million in sales through Nov. 14, besting not only the previous mark for a video game, but for movies at the box office as well. That represents about 8 million units sold, according to estimates by Santa Monica-based publisher Activision Blizzard Inc.

“This provided the entire industry with a shot in the arm,” said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at Lazard Capital Markets, who predicted that “Modern Warfare 2” will ultimately sell between 15 million and 20 million units, exceeding $1 billion in sales.

“Modern Warfare 2” cost between $40 million and $50 million to produce, according to people close to the project, about as much as a midsize film. Including marketing expenses and the cost of producing and distributing discs, the total launch budget was $200 million, on par with a summer popcorn movie – and extremely high for a video game.

The marketing and publicity campaign has featured all of the trappings of a modern movie effort, including ads and trailers designed by top advertising shops, a Twitter feed on which news was strategically disclosed, and a controversial scene involving airport terrorism that leaked onto YouTube and generated hordes of media attention.

“My goal was to create a launch that would compare very favorably to the biggest box offices of all time,” Activision Blizzard Chief Executive Bobby Kotick said.

Theatrical box office and video games sales aren’t equivalent, since movie tickets are significantly cheaper and are followed by markets that generate additional revenue such as DVD and pay television. Nonetheless, the fact that top video game launches now exceed the biggest film debuts is a further signal that the two businesses are coming to rival each other in popularity.

“Modern Warfare 2” comes at a propitious time for Activision and the video game industry. Video game sales through October are down 12 percent, according to the NPD Group, driven by the recession and a lack of smash hits. Activision has seen sales of a new sequel and spinoff to its “Guitar Hero” franchise lag behind versions released the last two years.

Since the first “Call of Duty,” a simulation of World War II action, launched in 2003, it has been among the most successful brands in the industry alongside the likes of “Super Mario” and “Grand Theft Auto.” Five major releases prior to “Modern Warfare 2,” along with a few spinoffs, combined to sell more than 48 million units.

The high point was 2007’s “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare,” which brought the series to contemporary times and was produced by Los Angeles-based Infinity Ward, creator of the first “Call of Duty.” It sold 14.4 million units.

Because it typically takes at least two years to produce a video game, publishers tap different studios when they want to produce annual sequels. Infinity Ward started work on a second “Modern Warfare” game immediately after the first, while Santa Monica-based Treyarch made 2008’s “Call of Duty: World at War,” which sold 12 million copies.