Warner Bros. Pictures on Friday surpassed the $1 billion mark at the domestic box office, making it the first studio to reach that benchmark 15 years in a row.
It’s also the fastest Warner Bros. has ever climbed to the billion-dollar mark, according to Dan Fellman, the studio’s president of domestic distribution.
He said the milestone was due to the strength of a range of films, beginning with the carryover of two blockbuster 2014 releases: “American Sniper” (with Village Roadshow Pictures) and “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” (with New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures).
Warner Bros. has more recently scored with “San Andreas” (with New Line Cinema); “Mad Max: Fury Road” (with Village Roadshow Pictures); and the Will Ferrell-Kevin Hart comedy “Get Hard.”
Next up is the July 1 release of “Magic Mike XXL,” starring Channing Tatum.
“We are all very proud of this record-breaking achievement,” Fellman said. “With a wide range of exciting films upcoming, we look forward to building on this number over the rest of the year.”
— City News Service