In crossing the threshold on Saturday (Aug 25) the company ensured it has reached the milestone every year since 2009 and has now done so six times overall.

The ongoing heroics of Ice Age: Continental Drift has been the primary driver and indeed the Blue Sky Studios smash remains a potent force at the box office where it brought in a further $7.6m at the weekend to reach $665m and overtook Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone become the industry’s tenth biggest international release of all time.

It also now ranks as the biggest animated film ever to open in Latin America and as reported last week bears the distinction of being the top animated franchise at the international box office, having amassed more than $2bn over the past decade.

Prometheus has also played its part in the company pantheon, grossing $215.5m and counting following an $11.7m weekend haul. It opened in Japan on a muscular $9.6m from 768 screens including previews to usurp The Avengers as the number one Hollywood release and is set to arrive in China and Italy on Sept 2 and Sept 14, respectively.

Fox International brass cited several other key contributors to the $2bn performance: Alvin And The Chipmunks 3 has grossed $136m this year despite launching in 2011, while This Means War grossed $102m, Fox Searchlight’s The Descendants took $95m and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel $88m.

Also worthy of mention are Chronicle on $63m, the 3D release of Stars Wars: Episode I on $60m and Fox International Production’s Stefan Vs Kramer, which has overtaken Ice Age 4 and ranks as the highest grossing Chilean film of all time and the third biggest admissions draw ever to open in the Latin American territory. It has topped the table in Chile for four weekends and stands at $8.6m.

“We have once again proven that with our strong product and incredible group of execs, we are the best in the business,” co-presidents Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus said. “We are so proud of our team, both here and around the world, for achieving this unprecedented result.”

  • The Dark Knight Rises meanwhile continued to rule the weekend box office for the sixth weekend in a row, adding an estimated $15.3m through Warner Bros Pictures International from 6,900 screens in 62 markets to push the running total to $519m.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman finale ranks as the biggest film of the year-to-date in the UK on $82.1m after six weeks and has amassed $41.9m in Australia after six, $32.2m in France after five, $30.7m in Germany after five and $25.5m in Brazil after five. It opens in China on Monday (Aug 27) and Italy two days later.

Rurouni Kenshin, a co-production between Warner Entertainment Japan and C&I Entertainment, opened in Japan on $6.9m on 329 screens including previews.

  • Pixar’s Brave brought in a further $14.6m from 48 territories through Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International, boosting the tally to $212.3m. It stands at $442.4m worldwide and ranks as the eleventh Pixar release to cross the $400m mark. The Avengers stands at $874m internationally and $1.49bn worldwide.
  • Total Recall has reached $79.5m through Sony Pictures Releasing International following a $13.8m weekend haul. It opened top in Australia on $2.5m from 355 and claimed silver medal in its first weekend in Germany on $2.1m from 578. The sci-fi reboot also opened top in the Philippines on $640,000 from 154.

Thriller Premium Rush opened day-and-date with North America in Malaysia and Taiwan and generated $1.3m from the two markets.

  • Madagascar 3 grossed $11.7m through Paramount Pictures International powered by a magnificent $7.7m number one launch in Italy from 808 sites over five days. The running total has climbed to $369m. The tally in Japan stands at $22.1m after four weekends. The Dictator stands at $112.7m and opened in Brazil in third place on $1.2m from 223 theatres and arrived in Mexico on $1m from 452 to also rank third.
  • Universal Pictures International’s comedy smash Ted added $9.5m from 2,900 theatres in 31 territories for an international running total of $155m. It stayed top in Germany for the fourth consecutive session on $2.5m from 606 sites for $23.8m. There are 27 territories to go.

The Bourne Legacy grossed $9.4m from 2,600 in 24 for  $43.9m and launched in second place in Mexico on $1.4m from 431. The UK generated $2.6m from 499 for $12.4m after two weekends. The Expendables 2 added $3.1m in Russia for $14.1m and $1m in Italy for $4.3m, both in the second weekend.

ParaNorman grossed $3.9m from 2,230 in 17 for an early $12.5m and opened in Russia on $1.1m from 480 3D screens. Step Up Revolution has amassed $16.7m from Universal territories.