Movies With Butter

Fox’s “Ice Age: Continental Drift” hasn’t even opened in the U.S. yet, and it has already racked up $238M at the overseas box office after just three weeks.

This trend is happening more often nowadays for big event films like “Marvel’s The Avengers” and “The Amazing Spider-Man.” We get the foreign box office reports for those films before they hit U.S. theaters. We’re being treated as second citizens for our own films.

It’s a no brainer to open “Ice Age 4” in foreign countries first, though. Although each film in the franchise has done steady business in the U.S., grossing between $176M-$196M, they have done massively better with each new release overseas.

In 2002, “Ice Age” did an impressive $207M in foreign markets. That figure more than doubled in 2006 with “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” which leapt to $460M. “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” added another $690M to the franchise in 2009, and it did it quietly. The only film to do better overseas in 2009 was James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

For just animated features, “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is tops overseas. I bet you didn’t know that. Alright, if you’re reading this, maybe you do. Next is “Toy Story 3” with $648M. “The Lion King” is third with $529M. In fourth is another Pixar movie: “Finding Nemo” with $528M. “Shrek Forever After,” the fourth film in the “Shrek” franchise rounds out the top five with $514M.

Can “Continental Drift” reach “Dawn of the Dinosaurs” level at the overseas box office? At its current rate, even if doesn’t, it’ll get close.

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