War of the Worlds Passes $500 Million Worldwide Box Office  8/3/05

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Aug. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- "War of the Worlds," a Steven Spielberg film starring Tom Cruise, has passed the $500 million threshold at the worldwide box office, taking in over $218.3 million domestically and over $310.7 million internationally and still growing.

Wayne Lewellen, president of motion picture distribution for Paramount Pictures, said, "It's always gratifying to see the audience respond as strongly as it has to 'War of the Worlds,' a film that proved to be a cultural focal point for audiences everywhere. Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise have delivered another of the biggest hits of all time. We're thrilled."

Since its release, "War of the Worlds" has become a worldwide blockbuster. In the U.S., the film set a new career high for Tom Cruise as well as a new mark for Paramount Pictures by scoring the largest opening day, largest single day, and largest opening weekend the star and the company have ever had. In addition, the film has surpassed the $215 million domestic gross for "Mission: Impossible II," becoming the biggest hit in Tom Cruise's extraordinary career.

The film has broken a total of 179 international records, including new opening-weekend highs in many territories for Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg, and Paramount Pictures. "War of the Worlds" scored the trifecta -- biggest Cruise weekend, biggest Spielberg weekend, and biggest Paramount weekend -- in such markets as the UK, Italy, Spain, Australia, Mexico, Korea, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, Brazil, Hungary, Portugal, and many other territories. In Argentina and Russia, among other countries, the film set the new mark for the #1 opening weekend of all time.

From Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures comes "War of the Worlds," directed by Steven Spielberg and starring international superstar Tom Cruise. A contemporary retelling of H.G. Wells's seminal classic, the sci-fi adventure thriller reveals the extraordinary battle for the future of humankind through the eyes of one American family fighting to survive it. The film also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin, and Tim Robbins.

Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Pictures present an Amblin Entertainment/Cruise/Wagner Production, a Steven Spielberg film, "War of the Worlds." Directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and David Koepp, based on the novel by H. G. Wells, the film is produced by Kathleen Kennedy and Colin Wilson. The executive producer is Paula Wagner. The film also stars Dakota Fanning, Miranda Otto, Justin Chatwin and Tim Robbins. This film has been rated PG-13 for Frightening Sequences of Sci-Fi Violence and Disturbing Images.

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom, Inc., one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion, and distribution of entertainment news, sports and music.

(323) 956-5824 SOURCE Paramount Pictures

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