On Sunday, July 25, Warner Bros. Studios became the only studio in history to surpass $1 billion at the domestic box office for ten years in a row. In addition, the division has crossed the billion-dollar threshold for eleven of the past twelve years. The announcement was made by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures President of Domestic Distribution.
The studio passed the billion-dollar mark on the heels of the blockbuster success of Christopher Nolan’s “Inception,” which has topped the weekend box office in its first two weeks in release and has taken in $142.9 million to date. Beginning the year, Warner Bros. was still enjoying the success of Guy Ritchie’s “Sherlock Holmes,” which had just opened on Christmas Day 2009. The studio also scored hits with Alcon Entertainment’s action adventure “The Book of Eli”; New Line Pictures’ ensemble romantic comedy “Valentine’s Day,” directed by Garry Marshall; the epic action adventure “Clash of the Titans”; and “Sex and the City 2,” New Line’s follow up to its 2008 hit based on the enormously popular television show.
In making the announcement, Fellman said, “This is an extraordinary milestone for our studio, and it reflects the enormous talent and dedication of a large roster of people, both on and off the screen. We are very proud of what we have achieved, not only this year, but over the past decade, and with an amazing slate of films opening in the coming months, we know this is just the beginning.”
Still to come in 2010 from Warner Bros. Pictures are: “Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore 3D,” opening this week; Rob Reiner’s “Flipped”; “Lottery Ticket,” starring Bow Wow and Ice Cube; “Going the Distance,” starring Drew Barrymore and Justin Long; “The Town,” directed by and starring Ben Affleck; Zack Snyder’s animated “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole 3D”; “Life As We Know It,” pairing Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel; Clint Eastwood’s “Hereafter,” starring Matt Damon; Todd Phillips’ “Due Date,” teaming Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis; the much-anticipated “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”; and “Yogi Bear 3D,” bringing the classic character to the big screen.