This is a big year for Universal Pictures in many ways. As the studio was first founded in 1912, this year marks their 100th anniversary and they've been celebrating with hit after hit. While they've had their fair share of flops - namely titles like Battleship, Wanderlust and Five Year Engagement - they've had far more huge hits. In fact, 2012 has actually been the most successful year in the studio's history.
According to Deadline, Universal's box office take this year has already managed to surpass the previous record - set in 2008 - with a $1.128 billion total at the North American box office. The company has released a number of big box office hits so far this year, such as Safe House, The Lorax, Snow White and the Huntsman and Ted, all of which either met or surpassed expectation on opening weekend and became huge blockbusters. Other titles released by them this year include Contraband, Big Miracle, American Reunion, Savages and The Bourne Legacy.
What's even more impressive is that they're still far from done. Universal still has four movies set to come out in the remaining months of 2012, and some of them have been getting a good amount of buzz. Pitch Perfect, the a cappella comedy starring Anna Kendrick, will be out on October 5th; RZA's The Man With The Iron Fists will premiere November 2nd; Judd Apatow's Knocked Up spin-off This is 40 is due to arrive on December 21st; and they will be closing out the year with Oscar-winner Tom Hooper's Les Miserables on Christmas day.
To celebrate the studio's success, here's a look back at the last 100 years of Universal movies:
