Sony Pictures Entertainment said Tuesday that for the first time in the history of the studio, its annual worldwide box office take exceeded $3 billion.
In North America, Sony has sold nearly 20 percent of all movie tickets with “The Da Vinci Code,” which did more than $750 million worldwide; “Casino Royale”; “Click”; and “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.” Each one of those movies hit the $100 million mark.
A surprise international hit was Adam Sandler’s “Click,” which had a typically strong performance of $137.3 million domestically for Sandler, but also added on $94.8 million from foreign markets for a total of $232.1 million.
This comes a year after a low in 2005 when the studio finished in eighth place among major distributors. The studio had a few bright spots, such as Will Smith’s romantic comedy “Hitch,” but the year was mostly made of bombs like “Stealth,” “XXX: State of the Union,” and “Zathura.”
Sony becomes the third studio ever to hit the $3 billion mark worldwide, joining Walt Disney Co.’s 2003 performance and Warner Bros. in both 2004 and 2005.
