Warner Bros Pictures International (WBPI) has crossed $1bn inoverseas ticket sales for the sixth year in a row.

The strong recent international openings of Martin Scorsese's TheDeparted, ClintEastwood's Flags Of Our Fathers and Christopher Nolan's The Prestige pushed the division over the threshold.

WBPI's key drivers this year have been Superman Returns ($191m), Poseidon ($121m), The Lake House ($63m) and V For Vendetta ($62m), as well as the 2006 gross of HarryPotter And The Goblet Of Fire, which accounted for $72m.

French acquisition Les Bronzes Amis Pour La Vie was also a key player and amassed astaggering $76m in France alone, making it the fourth biggest release in termsof French admissions.

Upcoming fourth quarter releases are the animated feature HappyFeet and Ed Zwick'sthriller Blood Diamond.

"As we continue to work with our partners in the exhibitioncommunity and our teams in the territories, it's fantastic to hit this high-watermark and it's a real testament to their hard work and continuedexcellence," WBPI president of distribution Veronika Kwan-Rubinek

"We are tremendously proud of our teams here in the homeoffice and out in the territories for continuing to bring freshness andingenuity to our campaigns," WBPI president of marketing Sue Kroll said.

"This year, we saw exceptional work on the diverse slate offilms we released in 2006, from blockbusters to specialty films. We're thrilledto be hitting our stride with so many strong films closing out the year."

2004 remains the banner year for WBPI, when it crossed the $2bnmark in less than six months and became the first studio to pass $2bn. It endedthe year on an estimated $2.2bn.