With a weekend collection of Rs 2.3 crores on just 67 prints, the film has got the “highest opening for any animation film in India’, beating the 2005 super hit Hanuman, which had an opening of Rs.1.5 Crores on 150 prints!

Fox Star Studios India’s “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur’ is undoubtedly the “coolest’ hit of the year as it wins hearts of kids and adults! The exceptional 3D effects in the film further enhanced the movie-watching experience of audiences.

Says Mr. Vijay Singh, CEO, Fox Star Studios India, “Even though Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaur released with the hugely hyped Kambakkht Ishq, it has managed to get one of the highest openings for an animated film in India; even better than “Hanuman’. Even X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released with a Bollywood film, and outperformed it, grossing over Rs.10 Crores in its opening week.

English films have definitely delivered better returns in terms of per print average. Indian audiences becoming very discerning and are driven by the right content whether it is English or Hindi.

Also, the good news is that audiences are going back to the cinemas.”

The previous highest weekend collections for a Hollywood film were for Shrek 3, which had collected Rs.1.3 Crores. The biggest animated film in India, “Hanuman’ had grossed around Rs. 1.5 Crores in its initial weekend. The sequel to Hanuman released in 2007 had an opening of just Rs. 1.2 Crores in its’ initial weekend.

While Ice Age 2 had been released with 30 English prints, Ice Age 3 was released with 67 prints (44 English, 11 Hindi, 12 English digital 3D) across India.

Says Mr. Swaroop Reddy, Sathyam Cinemas Chennai (where the film is playing in 3D Digital), “The demand for the movie is phenomenal. All shows till now from Friday have been full in advance just minutes after opening the advance booking. The demand is nothing less than a Bollywood Block Buster.”

Sanjay Ghai, Mukta Arts, the leading distributor in North India says “Highest opening for any animation movie in Delhi-NCR, and it’ll keep on growing week after week”

Aditya Shroff, VP Programming, Fame Cinemas adss “It keeps getting Bigger, Better and Cooler. “Mammoth” opening across…”

Mr Venkat Prasad, Programming Head Prasadz Media Corp, Hyderabad says “Ice Age is a brand of its own and the 3rd edition lives up to its expectations. The demand for the movie is superb. It’s not only the children who are fans of Ice Age. People of all age group are queuing up to watch the movie”

In terms of promotions, the film has tied-up with leading brands like McDonald’s, & Horlicks for extensive campaigns worth Rs.1 Crore in India. -Sampurn Media

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