"Ice Age: Continental Drift" rakes in $78 mln at foreign box office

PanARMENIAN.Net - Fox's animated "Ice Age: Continental Drift" heated up the overseas box office this weekend, raking in $78 milion and finishing No. 1 in all 34 markets in which it opened, TheWrap said.

It shattered several records in the process, and even finished No. 1 in the U.K., where it was in previews ahead of its July 13 debut, the same day it opens in the U.S. While most of Europe was watching soccer, Fox opted to focus on Central and South America and it paid off.

"Ice Age: Continental Drift" posted the biggest weekend openings ever in Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Central America, and Chile. It also scored Fox's biggest opening ever in Mexico, a whopping $13.7 million and 72 percent market share. It was Fox's best-ever in Brazil too, with $6.8 million.

And despite soccer, the French turned out in droves, ringing up $11.8 million for the year's biggest opening in that country.

The fourth installment in the franchise features the voices of Ray Romano, Queen Latifah, Denis Leary, John Leguizamo, Aziz Ansari and Jennifer Lopez.

Fox plans to expand into 14 new markets this coming week, including Germany and Holland, followed by an additional 16 markets on July 13.