Warner Bros announced on Sunday [3] that The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey had become the 15th film in history to reach the milestone, grossing $700m internationally and $301.4m in North America.

The film has raced to $37.3m in its first 10 days in China.

“From Berlin to Beijing, it is so gratifying to see how the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been such an event with audiences around the world,” said president of international distribution Veronika Kwan Vandenberg.

“We know that moviegoers everywhere are already excited about the next film, as are we.”

The second entry in MGM, New Line and Warner Bros’ latest Middle Earth trilogy directed by Peter Jackson, The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug, is scheduled to open worldwide in December.