Tom and Jerry CAT & MOUSE GAME: Ranking the Most Iconic Rivalries in Film and Gaming History

An intense rivalry is one of the most solid foundations for a movie script, cartoon, book or in gaming. Rivalry provides a ready-made story, distinctive characters, and the all-important conflict. But of course, some entertainment rivalries are more intense than others. The best rivalries are not about an easy binary of good vs evil, but of equals who find themselves at odds for one reason or another. They might be ingenious scientists battling over rival inventions or composers mired in creative jealousy. There are romantic rivalries, sports rivalries, and showbiz rivalries.

Regardless of what type of rivalry the movie, cartoon or game depicts, things can fly out of control. The feud may begin as a lighthearted spat or mild professional competition only to devolve into volatility and disaster. In American Psycho, for example, Patrick Bateman is so enraged by his colleague’s condescension that he resorts to dismemberment, while in Anchorman, the highest-ranking news anchors in San Diego are so competitive that they resort to a fully weaponized street brawl to settle their differences. Intense movie rivalries make for exciting viewing.

The company Vegas Gems released information on a study they conducted on rivals in film and gaming. The results revealed the most famous rivalries in TV and film, with Tom and Jerry taking the top spot. Experts at the gaming company Vegas Gems gathered a list of various iconic rivalries from TV and film before analyzing the average monthly search volumes of each one across the US

The terms examined include rivals like ‘Batman vs. Joker’ and ‘Thanos vs. Iron Man’.

In first place as the most Googled rivalry is Tom vs. Jerry, with a staggering 717,083 searches a month on average.

Tom and Jerry are the most searched-for rivals in all the states in the United States, but New York is the state with the most searches for the cat and mouse duo, searching for the rivalry 312 times a month on average per 100,000 residents.

Coming in second place is Alien vs. Predator, with 120,073 monthly searches on average. The rivals are every state’s runner-up, apart from one; California searches for the sci-fi rivalry more than any other state, with 48 average monthly searches per 100,000 people.

Another iconic animated rivalry is ‘Looney Tunes’ Wile E. Coyote vs. Road Runner, who land in third place with 62,469 searches every month on average.

New Mexico and Arizona can’t get enough of the hilarious rivalry, with both states accumulating 27 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents. Interestingly, both characters are from the Southwestern deserts found in New Mexico and Arizona, where a lot of the rivalry’s shenanigans take place.

In fourth place is Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader from the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. The rivalry sees 59,440 monthly searches on average, and Utah searches the most for the sci-fi rivals, with 23 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents.

Fifth place in the ranking is taken by another ‘Star Wars’ rivalry, between Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader again. The iconic rivalry, with legendary moments like ‘Luke, I am your father,’ accumulates 27,087 average monthly searches.

California searches for this rivalry the most, with 10 monthly searches on average per 100,000 people. It is interesting to see Obi-Wan Kenobi beat Luke Skywalker for the most iconic rivalry with Darth Vader.

Another sci-fi rivalry is between Optimus Prime vs. Megatron in the ‘Transformers’ movie series. The alien-robot rivalry witnesses 18,926 monthly searches on average; Hawaii searches the most, with 9 average monthly searches per 100,000 residents.

Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort is the seventh most popular rivalry in America, with 16,988 monthly searches on average. New Yorkers search the most for this rivalry, accumulating 6 average monthly searches per 100,000 people.

In eighth place is Scar vs. Simba, the third animated rivalry in the ranking. Scar and Simba see 16,423 average monthly searches and are Googled the most in Nevada, with 7 average monthly searches per 100,000 people.

In ninth place is Batman vs. Joker. There have been various adaptations of this rivalry, but the most well-known is ‘The Dark Knight’. The Batman and Joker rivalry accumulates 16,197 average monthly searches and is most popular in New York, with 6 average monthly searches per 100,000 people.

Just making the ranking for most popular rivalries is Thor vs. Loki from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Asgardian brothers see 7,804 average monthly searches and are well-loved in Hawaii with 29 searches on average per 100,000 residents.

Josh Lingenfelter, a spokesperson for Vegas Gems, has commented on the findings: “Rivalries are at the heart of good television and film. They bring more layers to storylines and characters; they allow more twists, turns, gasp-worthy moments, and excitement throughout the plot.

“MThese findings prove rivalries work across multiple genres, too. Rivals can be found in comedies and cartoons, as well as fantasies and action-packed sci-fi movies, demonstrating that they can range from fun and light-hearted to intense and dangerous.”

The Study Methodology per the researchers: 

Google Keyword Planner was used to obtain the search volumes of the following terms in each state and the US overall. The search volumes were also weighed against the populations to determine the ranking per 100,000 people. The terms in ‘rivalries’ were analyzed with ‘and’ as well as ‘vs.’ to collect all relevant search volume and different combinations of the rivals were also searched, e.g. ‘Alien vs. Predator,’ ‘Predator vs. Alien,’ ‘Alien and Predator.’

The Study Sponsor Vegas Gems is a social gaming platform founded in October 2023. Vegas Gems is owned and operated by JSP Media Holdings Ltd in Dublin, Ireland

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