The Ice Age movies series started a decade before its fourth movie in the series premiered in U.S. theaters. Audiences first met the prehistoric animals back in 2002. Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary have been in all 4 movies. Ray Romano has voiced the woolly mammoth named Manny, John Leguizamo was the voice of Sid the sloth, and Dennis Leary has been the voice of Diego the saber-tooth cat.
Over the span of the decade between the first and 4th movie the lives of Sid, Manny, and Diego have changed as they dealt with the prehistoric climate change of the time. This group of friends has remained a faithful pack that has always had each other’s back. Even as Manny went on to get married to fellow mammoth named Ellie, voiced by Queen Latifah, the group have continued to protect and love each other. All these characters, and more, join once again for the fourth installment, “Ice Age: Continental Drift.”
The first three were box office successes, with each film earning more than its predecessor. “ Ice Age” worldwide gross was $383 million, “Ice Age: The Meltdown” brought in $655 million, and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” grossed $866 million. With a movie empire as profitable of this, I doubt the people behind the Ice Age series are looking for it to go extinct anytime soon.
Ice Age does not stand alone as the only successful series of profitable movies. Computer animated films and their sequels have proven to be blockbuster successes for their makers. Other notable animated films that have brought in large audiences and revenue have been the Toy Story, Madagascar, and Shrek. Along with the income from the sale of movies, these have also made quite a lot from the sale of associated toys and other merchandise.
Many of the movies, including Ice Age have also had shorts and television movie specials.