For only the second time in the studio’s history, Universal has crossed the $5 billion mark at the global box office. The total now stands at $5.003 billion, with $3.398 billion coming from international grosses and $1.605 billion from domestic ticket sales.
The obvious highlights this year are two of the studio’s biggest tentpoles. The Fate of the Furious, the eighth installment in the long-running action franchise, launched back in April with the biggest global opening of all time ($542 million) and went on to gross $1.23 billion worldwide. Animated threequel Despicable Me 3, meanwhile, has grossed $1.03 billion worldwide, the second film in the franchise (after spinoff Minions) to reach the billion-dollar milestone.
Other global hits for the studio this year include low-budget Blumhouse horror films Split ($278 million) and Get Out ($254 million); the erotic sequel Fifty Shades Darker ($380 million); and Tom Cruise horror-action vehicle The Mummy ($405 million), though that title sputtered domestically with just $85 million and was widely considered a disappointment.
Universal is the third studio this year to cross $5 billion in global ticket sales after Disney and Warner Bros, which crossed the threshold on Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, respectively. In 2015, Universal became the fastest major studio to reach $5 billion in history (July 17) when it scored mega-hits like Jurassic World, Furious 7, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Pitch Perfect 2 early in the year.
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