MUMBAI: Led by the success of 300 and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix earlier this year, and the more recently launched Fred Claus and Beowulf, Warner Bros.Pictures International (WBPI) has surpassed the $2 billion threshold in overseas box office.
The division hits this mark as it wraps up a fourth quarter that features the upcoming sci-fi thriller I Am Legend starring Will Smith.
The division has achieved its second highest gross ever, behind the $2.2 billion made in 2004, which remains the industry‘s all-time highest gross. The 2007 take is 78 per cent ahead of the same period in 2006, which includes $62 million generated by Village Roadshow Pictures territories.
WBPI enjoyed a strong start to the year with the continued overseas success of the Oscar winner The Departed, which grossed $159 million worldwide, and more than $36 million in 2007, marking director Martin Scorsese‘s highest grossing film internationally; Oscar-winning Happy Feet also released in 2006 with a $187 million worldwide gross, brought in $74 million in 2007, as well as Blood Diamond which took in a total of $114 million.
The worldwide box office performance of three films stood out in 2007 — 300, which took in $246 million internationally; Ocean‘s Thirteen with $194 million and exceeding the domestic gross by more than 65 per cent, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix bringing in a record-breaking $645 million and doubling the domestic returns.
Also contributing to the $2 billion tally were titles including Music and Lyrics, David Fincher‘s Zodiac and No Reservations.
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