BURBANK, CA – On Monday, August 4, Warner Bros. Pictures became the only film studio in history to earn more than $1 billion at the domestic box office for 14 years in a row. In fact, the division has crossed the billion-dollar mark for 15 of the past 16 years. The announcement was made recently by Dan Fellman, Warner Bros. Pictures’ President of Domestic Distribution.

The studio passed the billion-dollar threshold thanks to a huge first quarter, featuring the box office success of New Line Cinema’s and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures’ “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” the second in Peter Jackson’s Trilogy, which opened in late 2013 but which enjoyed substantial returns in the first quarter of this year.

2014 continued to build with Warner Bros. Pictures’, Village Roadshow Pictures’ and LEGO® System A/S’s blockbuster animated feature “The LEGO Movie”—which was the #1 movie for the first half of 2014—and “300: Rise of an Empire,” the heavy-hitting follow up to Zack Snyder’s groundbreaking “300,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Summer started with a bang thanks to the monster hit “Godzilla,” from Warner Bros. and Legendary, IMAX®’s largest opening this year, followed by Doug Liman’s action thriller from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, “Edge of Tomorrow,” starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, and one-of-a-kind comedy from Melissa McCarthy as New Line’s “Tammy.”

In making the announcement, Fellman said, “This is a proud day for our studio. To cross such an extraordinary milestone once again is a direct reflection of the high standards and incredible efforts of the dedicated and creative individuals at work here, both on and off the screen. We still have an exciting roster of films yet to open this calendar year and, together with the talented teams bringing them to the theater, we look forward to continued success.”

Still to come in 2014 from Warner Bros. Pictures are: New Line’s and MGM’s “If I Stay”; Alcon Entertainment’s “Dolphin Tale 2”; the dramatic comedy ensemble of “This Is Where I Leave You,” starring Jason Bateman, Tina Fey and Jane Fonda; “Annabelle,” another chapter in New Line’s highly successful “The Conjuring”; David Dobkin’s “The Judge,” starring Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall in tour-de-force performances, from Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow; New Line’s sequel to the hit comedy “Horrible Bosses,” “Horrible Bosses 2,” reuniting the stars from the original, including Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day; “Inherent Vice,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s “surf noir” adaptation of author Thomas Pynchon’s cult favorite novel; and from New Line and MGM, the much-anticipated finale to Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit” Trilogy, “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies.”

MANILA, July 15, 2013 – The colossal showdown between monster aliens and giant robots destroyed the competition, as Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures' “Pacific Rim” grossed a victorious P83.25-million in just 4 days, opening at the top of Philippine box-office for the July 11-14 weekend.

This was announced today by Francis Soliven, General Manager of film's local distributor, Warner Bros. (F.E.), Inc.

“Pacific Rim” marked the year’s second biggest opening for Warner Bros., coming off the record-setting bow of “Man of Steel” last June. The studio also fired up the box-office last February with a No. 1 launch of “Jack the Giant Slayer.”

“`Pacific Rim’ continued the winning streak of Warner, and this bodes well for our remaining slate for 2013,” comments Soliven. “Frequently described as a nostalgic Valentine to fanboys, Guillermo Del Toro’s film has touched the hearts of a generation, while gaining new fans at the same time. It’s rip-roaring, monumental fight scenes and deeply human story have received critical acclaim and excellent word-of-mouth, and we’re excited to see how it will perform at the box office in the coming weeks.”

Warner has every reason to be positive since “Pacific Rim” is tracking higher than recently released movies in the same genre, namely “Wrath of the Titans,” “Real Steel,” “Battleship,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Prometheus,” “War of the Worlds” and “The Day After Tomorrow.”

Bowing in 277 screens nationwide, the futuristic action-adventure recorded the biggest receipts at SM Mall of Asia with a massive P5.89-M , followed by SM North EDSA and Trinoma with P4.93-M and P3.28-M respectively.

Close to their heels are SM Megamall (P2.94-M), SM Cebu (P2.92-M), Glorietta 4 (P2.60-M), Greenbelt 3 (P2.34-M), Power Plant (P1.91-M), Alabang Town Center (P1.87-M) and SM Southmall (P1.85-M).

Also posting impressive grosses are Gateway (P1.78-M), SM Aura (P1.60-M), Eastwood (P1.56-M), Newport (P1.54-M), Theatremall (P1.53-M), Gaisano Davao (P1.36-M), Market! Market! (P1.34-M), Ayala Cebu (P1.32-M), Shang Cineplex (P1.24-M) and SM Fairview (P1.19-M).

In “Pacific Rim,” when legions of monstrous alien creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity’s resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are synched via a neural bridge, called “The Drift.” But as the enemy grows more powerful with each attack, even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju.

On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed up former pilot (Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a seemingly obsolete Jaeger. Together, they stand as mankind’s last hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Now showing across the Philippines in IMAX 3D, Digital 3D, 2D and regular theaters, “Pacific Rim” will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Known for their grandiose storytelling and visual effects in “Ice Age” and “Rio,” Blue Sky Studios brings a world unlike any we’ve seen before in the 3D wonder “Epic.”

In “Epic,” MK (voiced by Amanda Seyfried) returns to her childhood home and reconnects with his father Prof. Bomba (Jason Sudeikis) who believes that out there are unseen people who live in the woods. She finally believes when she is magically transformed into the size of the people his father had been looking for all his life. Transported into the magical world of Leafmen where soldiers live to protect the forest, MK meets Nod (Josh Hutcherson), Ronin (Colin Farell) and Queen Tara (Beyonce). Together, she must unite with them in order to save the forest against the evil Boggans led by Mandrake (Christoph Waltz).

The filmmakers envisioned the Boggans as the creators of decay in the natural world. Wedge explains: “You might take a walk in the woods or in a park, and see something that looks like a cancerous knob growing out of a tree. That’s the handiwork of the Boggans.” Theircapital of decomposition is called Wrathwood, whose dark, twisty and claustrophobic tunnels provide a sharp contrast to Moonhaven’s openness and light.

The chief force behind the darkness and destruction is the Boggans’ ruler, Mandrake. Gifted, or cursed, with the ability to bring destruction to anything he touches, Mandrake and his Boggan minions are the arch-nemeses of the Leafmen. Mandrake is tired of hiding in the shadows, and with his son Dagda (played by Blake Anderson) by his side, he plans the ultimate revenge – to claim the forest he believes should have always been his.

As portrayed by two-time Academy Award®-winning actor Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained, InglouriousBasterds), Mandrake is devious, dangerous, erudite, droll, and ironic. His eloquent and sharp musings and threats are complemented by his vampire-like appearance. He even sports a bat cape, “like the Native Americans wore buffalo skins,” says Wedge. “They would conquer the soul of the animal and wear its skin, and Mandrake does the same” with the nocturnal and feared rodents. Bats are also the Boggans’ preferred mode of transport.

Wedge embraced the opportunity to work with Waltz, and got more collaboration than he expected when the directorread lines opposite Waltz during recording sessions. “Christoph wanted to play the scenes at all times, so our podiums were set up across from each other. He’d perform Mandrake, and I’d read whichever character he was playing against. Every time I’d look up from my script page, there was Christoph staring me down, in true Mandrake style. He was in the scene completely. It was intimidating and thrilling.”

If Queen Tara and the Leafmen embody the forces of light, and Mandrake and the Boggans the forces of darkness, then the character Bufo straddles both worlds. A tough-guy toad, Bufo is a wheeler and dealer who plays all the angles: he profits no matter which side wins or loses.

In yet another example of inventive casting, rapper/singer/songwriter Pitbull is Bufo. “We were looking for a certain archetype, and asked ourselves, where do you go?” Wedge explains. “Well, you don’t go to the normal field of actors; you go to musical artists. Pitbull brings something special to the role.”

Pitbull, whose current hit (performed with Christina Aguilera) is “Feel this Moment,” likens musicianship to the experience of a team of animators, designers and actor joining forces to create a film character. “When I make records I can hear a beat and know exactly what I’m going do and how it’s going to come about,” he explains. “So for an animator to see me and my expressions and translate those to a character…that’s amazing.”

“Epic” (3D) opens May 24 in theaters from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.