Sony Pictures Breaks All-Time Box Office Record Posted: Dec 28, 2006

With the #1 release of The Pursuit of Happyness, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s box office receipts for 2006 have passed $1.573 billion, setting a new motion picture industry record for domestic box-office in a single year. In passing the industry record, which Sony set in 2002, the studio caps a successful year in which SPE released a record-breaking 13 #1 films. The studio also launched 13 films to opening weekends of more than $20 M, another industry record, and surpassed more than $3 billion in global ticket sales for the first time. Sony Pictures now holds the top two years in the all-time domestic box office record books.

2006 marks the third time in the past five years that SPE has been #1 studio in domestic market share. As Sony finishes the year, the studio controls over 18% of all tickets sold in the United States and Canada. Led by The Da Vinci Code, the worldwide blockbuster that has grossed over $750 million at the box office, SPE has seen four films open to more than $40 million in the US and Canada; ultimately, each exceeded more than $100 million in domestic box office – including Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Click, The DaVinci Code,and Casino Royale. In addition, a record 13 films opened to more than $20 million – smashing the old record of 8 films, set in 2004 by Sony and Universal.

Other films contributing to the box office revenue for 2006 include Pink Panther, Open Season, Monster House, R.V., Gridiron Gang, The Holiday, Silent Hill, Underworld: Evolution, and When A Stranger Calls, among others.