娱乐英语新闻:Warner Bros. reaps over 2 bln USD from overseas markets

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- Warner Bros. has reaped more than 2 billion U.S. dollars in movie ticket sales from overseas markets so far this year, becoming the second Hollywood studio to achieve the feat, the studio announced on Friday.

The Burbank, California-based studio attributed this remarkable achievement to blockbuster films that have hit the screen earlier this year which include "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," the eighth and final installment on the boy wizard franchise.

The adventure has taken in a dazzling 857 million dollars in ticket receipts, becoming the highest grossing film of the year and the third-highest international release of all time.

The studio's foreign box office was also boosted by the screening of "Hangover Part II", a comedy which beat its predecessor to bag 327 million dollars internationally, standing out as the highest-grossing R-rated movie of all time, according to Warner Bros.

The studio has hit the major benchmark four times in 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011,respectively.

"Horrible Bosses," an R-rated comedy starring Jennifer Aniston, Jason Bateman and Colin Farrell, also helped contribute to the studio's performance due to its surprising appeal with the audience. It has generated over 35 million dollars from overseas markets.

"These incredible numbers are a testament to the diverse and powerful mix of films that our studio releases, along with the hard work and insight of our international distribution teams around the world," Veronika Kwan-Rubinek, president of International Distribution said.

"We' re tremendously gratified to reach this benchmark with so many exciting films yet to come," she added.

Warner Bros. is the second studio that has hit the 2 billion-dollar benchmark in this year.

Earlier this month, Paramount Pictures International became the first studio in the Tinseltown to surmount the threshold.

The studio will release later this years a number of highly anticipated films including Steven Soderbergh' s "Contagion," Clint Eastwood' s "J. Edgar," George Miller' s "Happy Feet Two," Guy Ritchie' s "Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows" and Garry Marshall' s "New Year' s Eve".