This marks a week earlier than PPI crossed the $1bn international mark in 2009, and the second-fastest time in the studio’s international box office (after 2008, which was a $2bn year).

Paramount Pictures International (PPI) has become the latest studio to cross the $1bn mark in 2010, thanks to a weekend powered by $42.6m for Shrek Forever After.

The milestone was crossed on Saturday (July 3), several days after Paramount had crossed the $1bn threshold domestically.

This marks a week earlier than PPI crossed the $1bn international mark in 2009, and the second fastest time in the studio’s international box office (after 2008, which was a $2bn year).

Paramount has hit $1bn internationally every year since it became a stand-alone international operation in 2007 (after the downscaling of UIP). In 2009, the total international tally was $1.32bn.

The final Shrek film launched this weekend in the UK/Ireland, UK/Ireland, France, Germany and Korea — for a new international cume of $140m. The film has set records in Russia, Ukraine and the Philippines, as well as Hong Kong and Egypt.

Paramount has also had another DreamWorks Animation project fuelling the box office this year. How To Train Your Dragon has now taken $263m at the international box office to date, with Japan still to open on Aug 7.

Other Paramount box-office drivers thus far in 2010 include Iron Man 2 ($305m international), Peter Jackson’s The Lovely Bones ($50.3m), Jason Reitman’s Up In The Air ($81.1m), and Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island ($167m).

Still to come for PPI are The Last Airbender; Jackass 3D; the Paranormal Activity sequel; Dinner for Schmucks; DWA’s Megamind; and Little Fockers.

Warner and Disney already hit the $1bn mark internationally.

And spurred by Avatar, Fox International crossed $2bn for the fourth time in its history, reaching the milestone in late June.

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