20th Century Fox's animated sequel, Ice Age: The Meltdown has defied almost all expectations with an opening day that is set to make it the highest opening movie of the year even without including its Sunday box office.
According to early Friday estimates, the animated film grossed over $21.6 million in its first day, Its release into 3,963 theatres made it the fifth widest release in history, and it averaged over $5,400 per venue. That opening day puts it in line to make close to $75 million or slightly more over the weekend, based on comparisons with similar animated films.
Going by estimates, had a bigger opening day gross than both of Pixar Studios' last two movies, Finding Nemo and The Incredibles, which each made just under $21 million their opening days. 2004's Shrek 2, currently the highest opening animated film of all time, opened quietly on a Wednesday with $11.7 million before grossing another $108 million over the three-day weekend and then becoming the third highest grossing movie of all time with $441 million in the U.S. alone.
