MUMBAI: The overseas box-office grosses of Universal Pictures International (UPI) has crossed passed the $1 billion mark on the strength of such recent movies as Battleship and Snow White and the Huntsman.

This feat is the fastest that Universal's international distribution arm has hit that mark besting its previous record of 16 August 2008, when it was handling films including Mamma Mia! and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.

With the international audience growing, UPI is the fifth distributor to collect $1 billion in foreign grosses this year. While Disney and Warner Bros. hit that mark in May, Fox hit it in June and Sony in July.

Films from the UPI stable that have contributed to its foreign haul include Safe House(grossed $77.5 million to date overseas; Dr. Seuss' The Lorax ($99.7 million); American Reunion ($177.4 million); Battleship ($238 million) and Snow White and the Huntsman ($220 million).

UPI has five more films to release this year. The thriller sequel The Bourne Legacy; the comedy Pitch Perfect, action-thriller The Man With the Iron Fists, the musical adaptation Les Miserables and the Judd Apatow comedy This Is 40.