Universal Has Biggest Year Ever for a Hollywood Studio with $5.5 Billion 2015

"Jurassic World" helped Universal Pictures have the highest grossing year ever for a movie studio (Universal Pictures Photo).

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. - It's good to be king. That's what Universal Pictures bosses may well be thinking after the studio set a record for a Hollywood studio with $5.53 billion at the world-wide box office so far this year. The previous record was held by 20th Century Fox which earned $5.52 billion last year.

Universal's numbers were fed by a 2015 slate was headed by "Jurassic World" (with its $1.56 billion), "Furious 7" ($1.51 billion) and "Minions"

($856.9 million). The studio's other strong moneymakers included "Fifty Shades of Grey" ($569.7 million) and "Pitch Perfect 2" ($283 million).

The studio also set the record for fastes to reach $1 billion, fastest to $2 billion and $3 billion at the international box office; not to mention the fastest to $3 billion, $4 billion, and, of cours, to $5 billion at the international box office. Universal also raked it in domestically with five of the top eight movie openings. No bigger testament to its dominant year is the simple fact that it has been No. 1 at the U.S. box office for 11 weekends and has managed to hold on to the top spot 12 times this year or more than any of its studio brethren.

While "Jurassic Park" has been a box office juggernaut since its June release, "Furious 7" has become the highest-grossing film ever in China with $390.8 million and thus joined the ranks of such colossal films as "Avatar" and "Titanic" as only the third film in history to reach $1 billion overseas. It is also the fifth-highest-grossing movie in the world.