THANKS TO CHINA, FOX CROSSES $1-BILLION MARK OVERSEAS

Reflecting Hollywood’s increasing dependence on the expanding Chinese market, 20th Century Fox has become the third studio to cross the $1-billion mark in gross international earnings, following the lead of Disney and Warner Bros. Daily Variety pointed out that the studio was able to reach that milestone relatively quickly as a result of $286 million in overseas ticket sales for Titanic in 3D — more than half of which came from China. The European release of Fox’s Prometheus last weekend, which packed theaters in most countries where it was shown, pushed the studio past the $1-billion mark. Of the top five studios, only Universal and Sony have yet to reach that mark, although they are expected to do so by the end of the month, Variety said.