Sony Pictures Entertainment Makes Company History, Crossing the $1 Billion Mark in Both North American and Overseas Ticket Sales for the Third Year in a Row

Sony Pictures Entertainment made company history Saturday by crossing the $1 billion mark overseas for the third year in a row, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Vice Chairman of SPE and President of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group.

This is the fifth time Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International has crossed the billion dollar box office milestone, previously hitting the mark in 1997, 2000, 2002, and 2003. The company surpassed a billion dollars in domestic box office last month for the fourth time in company history. So far in 2004, the company has generated more than $2.043 billion in worldwide ticket sales.

Only two other studios -- Disney and Warner Bros -- have ever recorded three consecutive billion dollar years both domestically and overseas.

"We are extremely proud to be one of only three studios to ever reach this box office pinnacle," said Blake. "Our continued success is a tremendous testament to the quality and diversity of the films released by Columbia Pictures, Revolution Studios and Screen Gems throughout the entire year. They have been delivering terrific films that audiences worldwide are excited about and are enjoying."

Since January 2002, Sony Pictures Releasing has delivered 22 #1 films domestically -- more than any other studio. The closest competitor (Warner Bros.) has released 14 #1 movies during that time frame.

"No studio has delivered more #1 films over the past few years and I couldn't be more proud of the creativity and talent in our worldwide marketing and distribution team. We have the best marketing and sales divisions in the business and the best part of this box office news is that it's only October. We still have another quarter of the year to continue our performance."

In 2002, Sony Pictures achieved a record shattering $1.573 billion domestically, a box office fete which still stands as an all-time domestic record. That year, the company generated $2.878 billion worldwide. In 2003, Sony ended the year domestically with $1.207 billion and overseas with $1.039 billion.

This year, Sony broke through the $1 billion domestic barrier earlier than last year thanks in large part to Spider-Man®2, which has grossed $775 million worldwide to date, more than $400 million of that overseas.

Spider-Man® 2 opened #1 in the United States and posted #1 openings in each of the 70 markets where it debuted internationally.

Other Columbia titles contributing to the box office success this year include springs hits, 50 First Dates and Secret Window, a quartet of strong Revolution Studios performers Hellboy, 13 Going on 30, White Chicks and The Forgotten and Screen Gems' Resident Evil: Apocalypse and You Got Served.

Also contributing to the bounty were holdovers from 2003 including, Something's Gotta Give, Big Fish and Revolution Studios' Mona Lisa Smile and such international releases as Gothika and Peter Pan.

Currently, Sony Pictures ranks #1 in market share for 2004 among all studios, and expects to add to its 2004 total with such upcoming releases as the horror thriller The Grudge (October 22) starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, the Revolution Studios family comedy Christmas With the Kranks (November 24) starring Tim Allen and Jamie Lee Curtis, Mike Nichols comedy/drama Closer (December 3) starring Julia Roberts and Jude Law, and James L. Brooks' comedy/drama Spanglish (December 17) starring Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni.

Sony's 2005 slate includes such highly anticipated films as director Nora Ephron's Bewitched starring Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell; Memoirs of a Geisha, directed by Rob Marshall; Fun with Dick and Jane, starring Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni; All The King's Men, starring Sean Penn, Jude Law and Meryl Streep; Hitch, a romantic comedy starring Will Smith and Kevin James; Guess Who, starring Bernie Mac and Ashton Kutcher; Rob Cohen's summer action adventure tentpole Stealth; Legend of Zorro, starring Catherine Zeta Jones and Antonio Banderas; XXX: State of the Union, starring Ice Cube; Roman Polanski's adaptation of Oliver Twist; and a feature film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Rent, directed by Chris Columbus.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a division of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in 67 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com/.

   For More Information, contact:

   Steve Elzer
   Senior Vice President, Media Relations
   Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group
   (310) 244-7142
   steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

SOURCE: Sony Pictures Entertainment

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, or steve_elzer@spe.sony.com

Web site: http://www.sonypictures.com/