Godzilla, Bilbo and the wee folk of The LEGO Movie helped Warner Brothers Pictures become the only studio to reach the one billion dollar mark in domestic sales for fourteen consecutive years, fifteen of the past sixteen overall, according to a studio release issued today.
Studio President of Domestic Distribution Dan Fellman said “This is a proud day for our studio. To cross such an extraordinary milestone once again is a direct reflection of the high standards and incredible efforts of the dedicated and creative individuals at work here, both on and off the screen. We still have an exciting roster of films yet to open this calendar year and, together with the talented teams bringing them to the theater, we look forward to continued success.”
Warner started off the year with the continuing box office success of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug adding an additional $69 million to its final $258 million total. February brought the surprise smash hit The LEGO Movie, which has hauled in $257.7 million so far and is a strong contender for the Best Animated Feature Oscar next February. March’s 300: Rise of an Empire contributed $106 million while May’s Godzilla delivered a monster-sized $200 million to help kick off the summer movie season. Other summer offerings included the critically acclaimed sci-fi epic Edge of Tomorrow with $98 million so far, Clint Eastwood’s Jersey Boys with $45 million and the Melissa McCarthy comedy Tammy with $82 million so far.
The financial good fortunes should continue throughout the fall and winter with Horrible Bosses 2, The Judge starring Robert Downey Jr., the spin off (sequel?) from last year’s sleeper hit The Conjuring entitled Annabelle, Paul Thomas Anderson’s Inherent Vice and the final entry in the Hobbit trilogy, The Battle of the Five Armies. Oh yeah, a few dollars here and there may be contributed by a little film called Interstellar directed by some guy named Christopher Nolan. Have you heard of him?
Fellman said, “This is a proud day for our studio. To cross such an extraordinary milestone once again is a direct reflection of the high standards and incredible efforts of the dedicated and creative individuals at work here, both on and off the screen. We still have an exciting roster of films yet to open this calendar year and, together with the talented teams bringing them to the theater, we look forward to continued success.”
