Universal Breaks Domestic Box Office Record With $2.113B
The studio has already set new records for the highest-grossing year at the international and worldwide box office.
By Rebecca Ford
Universal has now set a new industry record for the highest-grossing year ever at the domestic box office, hitting $2.113 billion.
The previous record was held by Warner Bros., which ended the 2009 year with a domestic tally of $2.105 billion.
The new domestic record was set with the help of the huge North American grosses of Jurassic World ($639.8 million); Furious 7 ($352.6 million); Illumination Entertainment’s Minions ($321.1 million); Pitch Perfect 2 ($183.8 million) and Fifty Shades of Grey ($166.2 million). The studio has already set new records for the highest-grossing year at the international and worldwide box office.
The studio’s latest release, Straight Outta Compton, has topped the domestic box office for the past two weekends. The studio currently has five of the top ten highest-grossing films of the year, including the No. 1 spot with Jurassic World. The dinosaur adventure film had the biggest opening weekend of all-time at the North American box office and was No. 1 for three week. It also had the highest-grossing June opening ever and is currently third-highest-grossing film of all time.
Read More: Universal Breaks International Box-Office Record With $3.78B
“This continues to be an extraordinary year for our studio, and our success is a result of every division working cohesively to bring the best possible version of our films into theaters,” said Nick Carpou, President Distribution, Universal Pictures. “We work alongside inspired filmmakers with a passion for telling great stories, and with this year’s diverse slate we were fortunate to identify release dates that maximized theatrical grosses. We share this success with our partners in exhibition and look forward to the remainder of the year.”
Universal still has four more months of this year for its North American tally to continue to climb. The studios’ upcoming releases include: The Visit, the original new thriller from M. Night Shyamalan; adventure film Everest, directed by Baltasar Kormakur; Danny Boyle’s Steve Jobs; Guillermo del Toro’s gothic romance Crimson Peak; Angelina Jolie Pitt’s By the Sea; and Krampus, the horror-comedy from Legendary.
Read More: Universal’s “100-Year Flood”: What’s Behind the Historic 2015 at the Box Office?
