Universal Pictures International Reaches $3 Billion In Record Time

$3 Billion Marks a First for Universal and the Fastest Any Studio has Reached this Milestone

UNIVERSAL CITY, CA, July 8, 2015-With Illumination Entertainment’s Minions outstanding overseas debut in 26 international territories and the strong week-to-week hold from Jurassic World, UPI’s 2015 box office grosses have crossed $3 billion, the fastest that any studio has reached this milestone in history. UPI overtakes the record set by 20th Century Fox in October of 2014. This also marks the first time in Universal’s 103-year history that the studio has reached $3 billion at the international box office. The announcement was made today by Duncan Clark, President of Distribution, UPI.

“We are proud of our slate and the accompanying success, which is due to the hard work of our filmmakers and our tireless Universal Pictures team,” said Clark. “From our production group, who have been so brilliant at nurturing our homegrown franchises, to the best marketing and distribution teams in the business-both in London and Los Angeles-and our dedicated teams around the world, this year has been a joy for every member of our organization.”

UPI’s success thus far has been fueled by the tremendous results of films including Fifty Shades of Grey ($403.6 million), Fast & Furious 7 ($1.160 billion), Pitch Perfect 2 ($96.6 million), Jurassic World ($843.9 million) and early results in 26 international territories from Minions ($141.7 million), which opens in North America and 25 additional international markets this weekend.

2015 international highlights to date include:

· Universal currently has three of the top four highest-grossing films of the year.

· The studio’s films opened No. 1 worldwide three times in 2015, and have been No. 1 at the international box office for nine weeks-more than any other studio.

· Illumination Entertainment’s Minions, which is only open in 26 international markets, scored the highest opening for an animated film of all-time in five territories.

· Jurassic World had the biggest opening weekend of all-time internationally, domestically and worldwide. It is the fifth-highest-grossing film of all-time worldwide and the ninth-highest-grossing film internationally. It also became the fastest film to reach $1 billion worldwide after only 13 days in release. Jurassic World opens in its final territory, Japan, on August 5.

· Pitch Perfect 2 is having a great run at the international box office and has grossed $96.6 million in 49 territories to date. Pitch Perfect 2 opens in an additional 13 territories in the coming weeks.
· Vin Diesel, Paul Walker and Dwayne Johnson led the all-star returning cast of Fast & Furious 7 to a gross of more than $1.160 billion at the international box office. Among countless records, Fast & Furious 7 is the highest-grossing film ever in China ($390.8 million) and the third-highest-grossing film at the international box office ever, joining the ranks of Avatar and Titanic as only the third film in history to reach $1 billion in international box office.

· Fifty Shades of Grey is studio’s highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time. The film has grossed $403.6 million at the international box office.
Universal continues to charge ahead with a blockbuster 2015 slate including:

· Trainwreck, the latest film from director Judd Apatow, written by and starring breakout comedy star Amy Schumer; and Straight Outta Compton, the astonishing story of the meteoric rise and fall of N.W.A., which is directed by F. Gary Gray.
· Later this year-Writer, director, producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the genre that launched his career in a new original thriller, The Visit, produced by Jason Blum; Everest, an epic adventure from Universal, Cross Creek and Working Title, inspired by the incredible events surrounding an attempt to reach the summit of the world’s highest mountain that is directed by Baltasar Kormákur; the drama Steve Jobs, from the brilliant minds of director Danny Boyle and writer Aaron Sorkin, produced by Mark Gordon, Guymon Casady, Scott Rudin and Christian Colson; the gothic romance from Legendary directed by Guillermo del Toro, Crimson Peak; the drama, By The Sea, the new film from writer/director Angelina Jolie Pitt, starring Brad Pitt and Jolie Pitt; and Legendary’s horror-comedy, Krampus.

About Universal Pictures International
Universal Pictures International (UPI) is the international marketing and distribution division for Universal Pictures. In the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, France, Russia, China, Korea, Australia, Mexico and India, UPI directly markets and distributes movies through its local offices, creating campaigns and release strategies that respond to the culture and market behavior of those territories. In other parts of the world, UPI partners with Paramount and Sony in the distribution of all three companies’ films. Universal Pictures is part of NBCUniversal, one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation.