Following the successful launch of “Girls Trip” over the weekend ($30.4 million), Universal Pictures has become the first studio to hit the $4 billion mark at the global box office in 2017. It’s the second time in the studio’s history that it has hit this milestone within a year period. Nearly $2.8 billion of its 2017 global cume came from overseas markets.
Universal has made it to this point thanks to a mix of original titles, sequels and homegrown franchises. The lion’s share of the revenue came from “The Fate of the Furious,” which has grossed $1.23 billion worldwide. Another big moneymaking sequel for the company is “Despicable Me 3,” which currently stands at $732.5 million worldwide. It’s one of two films from Illumination that has brought in huge revenue for the studio. The other, “Sing,” was released in late December 2016 but earned $117 million domestically in 2017.
While “DM3” and “Fate of the Furious” have been major revenue drivers overseas, Universal owes much of its domestic success this year to its first-look deal with Blumhouse, which has yielded two low-budget hits in “Get Out” and “Split.” Released early this year, the two horror films combined for $313.5 million domestically against a combined budget of $13.5 million. “Fifty Shades Darker” has also been a solid domestic return, making $114.3 million. Combined with the two franchise titles, Universal has just under $1.15 billion in domestic gross in 2017, second among all studios.
In 2017, Universal has been No. 1 at the domestic box office for eight weekends, the international box office for eight weekends, and the worldwide box office for six. This past weekend, “Girls Trip” was No. 2 with a $30.4 million opening, the highest for a live-action comedy this year.