The distributor has become the only company to pass the mark in a single calendar year five times and the first to do so for three consecutive years.

Fox International crossed $2bn on Friday Nov 18, a remarkable achievement fuelled by the success of several notable titles.

Rio has grossed $344m, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (pictured) $305.2m, X-Men: First Class $208.8m and Mr Popper’s Penguins $121m. Sci-fi thriller In Time from New Regency has taken $65m from several weeks in release.

Fox International had previously achieved $2bn in 1998, 2006, 2009 and 2010, when Avatar drove overall ticket sales for the calendar year to $2.93bn.

Fox International co-president Paul Hanneman said: “The fact that we have been able to sustain our success for several years demonstrates yet again what a talented, hard-working team we have, not only in our Los Angeles office but around the world.”

Co-president Tomas Jegeus, added: “We have several exciting films yet to come in 2011 including the highly-anticipated We Bought A Zoo and the popular Alvin & The Chipmunks: Chipwrecked. With such a strong line-up, Fox International is on track to continue its record-breaking success through the end of the year and beyond.”

The 2012 slate includes Ice Age 4, Titanic 3D, Star Wars: Episode 1 3D, This Means War, Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and The Life Of Pi.

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