Blockbusters propel 2015 US box-office to record $11B

LOS ANGELES (AP) — It’s been a record-breaking $11B year at the movies.

Box-office tracker Rentrak said recently that the industry has already reached the benchmark and is expected to end 2015 with an unprecedented $11.1B in ticket sales in the US and Canada.

The previous record of $10.9B was set in 2013.

2015 heralded numerous record-breaking releases, including Fifty Shades of Grey, which set a record for February opening-weekend attendance, and Furious 7 did the same in April. Opening in June, Jurassic World scored the biggest debut weekend ever, until it was bested last December by Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

“Hollywood built the perfect box-office beast in 2015, with one hit movie after the next,” said Rentrak analyst Paul Dergarabedian in a statement.