It’s official. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has passed the $1 billion mark worldwide, and it has its recent opening in China to thank. The film grossed $37.3 million in China since it opened 10 days ago, becoming only the 15th film to cross this benchmark worldwide. The top three are Avatar, Titanic, and The Avengers. Skyfall is currently in the number seven position with $1.1 billion worldwide.


In a statement announcing the news on Sunday, Veronika Kwan Vandenberg, President of International Distribution for Warner Bros. said “From Berlin to Beijing, it is so gratifying to see how the release of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey has been such an event with audiences around the world. We know that moviegoers everywhere are already excited about the next film, as are we.”


Peter Jackson’s adaptation of the J.R.R Tolkien novel has grossed $301.4 million domestically — well below the domestic totals of the individual films in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and none of those films had 3-D or IMAX ticket prices to help. Only The Return of the King made more than $1 billion worldwide, and notably, only $10.4 million of that came from China.