Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is the first documentary to top $100m (£53.3m) at the worldwide box office, according to a film trade magazine.
Screen International found that 21 films made more than $100m in countries apart from the US and Canada.
Epic Troy was only 13th most popular film for 2004 in the US - it made 73% of its total takings elsewhere.
The only non-English language film released in 2004 to exceed $100m was Japanese movie Howl's Moving Castle.
The research demonstrates how important the international market has become to US film studios.
TOP 10 INTERNATIONAL HITS
Films such as King Arthur, The Terminal and Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason all made the international top 20 despite failing to reach the top 25 in North America.
Animated feature The Polar Express and heist movie Ocean's Twelve, both passed the $100m mark at the international box office over the New Year weekend.
Other films to exceed $100m were Spider-Man 2 starring Tobey Maguire, Mel Gibson's The Passion Of The Christ, Steven Spielberg's The Terminal and animated feature films Shrek 2 and Shark Tale.
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