'Transformers 3' Exceeds $1B at Global Box Office
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this publicity image released by Paramount Pictures, Bumblebee is shown in a scene from "Transformers: Dark of the Moon." (© 2011 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Hasbro, TRANSFORMERS and all related characters are trademarks of)
"Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon" has passed $1 billion in global box office revenue, Paramount Pictures announced Wednesday, making it the third film to reach the milestone in 2011.
The latest installment of the "Transformers" franchise had racked up receipts of $338 million in US through Monday and $663 million internationally through Tuesday, Paramount said in a statement.
It is the first billion-dollar-grossing movie in the studio's history.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}HOT SHOTS: Rosie Huntington Whiteley
"We are grateful for the extraordinary work of Michael Bay and his film-making team, executive producer Steven Spielberg and everyone at Paramount around the globe who played a part in helping make this latest 'Transformers' one of the 10 highest grossing films worldwide of all time," Brad Grey, chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures, said.
Nine other films have grossed more than $1 billion globally, including two this year -- "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}But none of 2011's big blockbusters has come close to the highest-grossing film in history: James Cameron's "Avatar," which took more than $2 billion.