"There's a big reset happening now," Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello told the Financial Times. "I don't think I've ever heard of [Hollywood being afraid of a game] before."

Last fall, some Hollywood executives blamed Bungie's Halo 3 (X360) for a 27% drop in ticket sales, causing a bit of Grand Theft Auto IV paranoia in Tinsel Town.

Earlier this month, a report surfaced that GTA 4 publisher Take-Two expects sales of $400 million in the game's first week on store shelves. The best of estimates have the Robert Downey Jr.-starring Iron Man flick pulling in a scant $100 million during its opening weekend at the box office.

However, not everyone believes that Grand Theft Auto IV is such a bad thing.

"Gamers buying GTA 4 are going to be talking about the game and they're going to be talking about the movies," prophesied Paul Dergarabedian, CEO of box office sales-tracking firm Media by Numbers. "The movie they will be talking about is Iron Man."

"The two properties can co-exist in the marketplace," added Marvel Studios worldwide marketing president Geoff Ammer. "We believe that moviegoers will make going to see Iron Man part of their weekend plans."