Sony_pictures_logoSony now claims 2012 "exceeded our estimates" yesterday by over $5 million worldwide. So Roland Emmerich's disaster pic did $165.2 million overseas and $65.2 million domestically for a new worldwide total of $230.4 million. That helped Sony Pictures set a new studio record for international box office with $1.634 billion for 2009, and counting, that broke the 2006 previous record. The studio thinks it's on track for "the best box office year worldwide" in its history and issued a press release to that effect. That's because of big overseas numbers for 2012, Angels & Demons ($352M), Terminator Salvation ($220.6M), District 9 ($88M), The Ugly Truth ($112M) and Michael Jackson’s This Is It ($155.2M). Jeff Blake, chairman, Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution said in a statement, “Our performance this year re-emphasizes the importance of the international marketplace and the enormous value of a release slate with global appeal." Sony Pictures also says it's on track to make 2009 its best year ever worldwide and pass $3.334 billion, the record the studio set in 2006. In addition, SPRI could potentially pass the $2 billion mark at the international box office, a number that has been reached by any studio only 4 times in history.