Sid the sloth (right) (John Leguizamo), taunts Diego (Denis Leary) in the movie 'Ice Age:The Meltdown'. - CONTRIBUTED
LOS ANGELES (AP):
Ice Age: The Meltdown heated up the box office with a mammoth US$70.5 million weekend, while audiences gave the cold shoulder to Sharon Stone, whose Basic Instinct 2 debuted with a paltry US$3.2 million.
The Ice Age sequel, from 20th Century Fox, took over the top box office spot from Universal's Inside Man, which slipped to number two in its second weekend with US$15.7 million, raising its 10-day total to US$52.8 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.
Premiering in third place was the Warner Bros. roller-skating tale ATL, starring rapper Tip Harris, which took in US$12.5 million.
SLITHER FLOPPED
Universal's Slither, starring Nathan Fillion in a horror comedy about killer slugs from outer space, flopped with US$3.7 million, debuting at number eight.
Sony's MGM release, Basic Instinct 2, the belated sequel to the 1992 sex thriller that made Stone a star, tied for the number 10 spot with Lionsgate's Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector, which took in $3.2 million in its second weekend.
The overall box office surged, with the top 12 movies grossing US$136.5 million, up 40 per cent from the same weekend last year. The upswing followed a stagnant first quarter after a prolonged drought last year, when attendance fell 8 per cent compared with 2004.
Ice Age: The Meltdown reunites Ray Romano, Denis Leary and John Leguizamo, now joined by Queen Latifah, as voices of prehistoric animals migrating to safety when global warming threatens to flood their home.
The sequel easily surpassed the US$46.3 million opening weekend of the original Ice Age in 2002 and broke the record it held for best March opening ever. If the numbers hold when final figures are released today, it would tie The Incredibles for second-best animated debut behind the $108 million first weekend of Shrek 2.
"No one had any idea it would do this kind of business," said box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian of Exhibitor Relations, who had expected the Ice Age sequel to debut at about $55 million.
"The notion that people don't want to go to the movies is dispelled by something like this," he said. "It proves people will line up for the right movie if given the motivation."
Top 10 box office listings
1. Ice Age: The Meltdown US$70.5 m
2. Inside Man US$15.7 m
3. ATL US$12.5 m
4. Failure to Launch US$6.6 m
5. V for Vendetta US$6.5 m
6. Stay Alive US$4.58 m
7. She's the Man US$4.57 m
8. Slither US$3.7 m
9. The Shaggy Dog US$3.5 m
10 Basic Instinct 2 US$3.2 m
10 Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector US$3.2 m.
