2009 was a pretty good year for 20th Century Fox, and the release of Avatar in the final weeks of the year gave the studio an extra boost in profits. While Fox did well domestically, it was overseas that they really knocked out the competition.
Thanks partially to the $405 million brought in internationally by Avatar, 20th Century Fox set a new record in foreign box office sales. Fox earned $2.26 billion from theaters around the world, beating the previous international box office record of $2.24 billion (seen by Warner Bros. in 2007).
While Avatar‘s release may have given Fox the final push towards its record-breaking year, the studio’s big winner internationally was the summer’s animated hit Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. The third film in the Ice Age franchise saw a cumulative of $687.2 million at foreign theaters, making it one of the industry’s top 3 highest international grossers of all time (Titanic comes in at number 1, The Return of the King at number 2).
Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Avatar may have been the big hits leading Fox’s way to their international success of the year, but Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel has held its own to give 20th Century Fox an added buffer at foreign box offices. The live-action/animation mix has so far brought in $133.6 million internationally, and is still scheduled to open in 25 more areas.
