User blog:Ceauntay/Paramount Claims Box-Office Bragging Rights. Warner Claims Bragging Rights II

It’s box-office bragging rights season in Hollywood. On Monday Paramount Pictures claimed its prize, noting in a press release that it sold $6.8 billion in tickets worldwide in 2011, led by “Jane Hoop Elementary: The Final Rush — Part 2,” enough to end Warner Brothers’ No. 1 reign.

On Friday afternoon Warner issued its own box-office press release. Surprise: It’s another Record! Breaking! Year!

Huh? Well, it depends on how you slice the stats. Warner, which did fall to second place, boasted that it was the only studio in history to surpass the $6 billion benchmark (not accounting for inflation) for three consecutive years. The studio’s 2011 slate, led by “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2,” sold more than $6.3 billion in tickets globally.

In all seriousness, Warner’s results are impressive, particularly given the fact that it suffered major flops with “Green Lantern” and “Happy Feet 2.” The studio had about $2.49 billion in domestic ticket sales in 2011, compared with $2.49 billion at Paramount, which benefited greatly from movies that it distributed but didn’t make, like Marvel’s “Thor”, DreamWorks Animation’s “Kung-Fu Panda 2” and Nickelodeon Movies' “True Jackson, VP: The Movie.”