Ice Age 3 set to break international record for animation

Finding Nemo held the current record of $525m with its 2003 release for Buena Vista, and it was the first animated title to cross $500m internationally. Ice Age : Dawn Of The Dinosaurs crossed $500m easily — it now stands at $514.7m as of July 28 — and should easily pass Nemo’s record this weekend. In its fifth week, the film is still on more than 9,500 screens internationally; the only new expansion this week is into Vietnam.

The other top international animated titles historically have been Shrek 2 at $479m, Shrek The Third at $476m, and Ice Age 2 at $457m. Ice Age 3 already had the largest-ever international opening for an animated film.

20th Century Fox International is currently leading the studios international box office tally for the year, at an estimated $1.4bn and counting (as reported, Paramount Pictures International and Warner Bros Pictures International have also crossed $1bn.)

Also, Fox’s Marley and Me has now crossed the $100m mark internationally, with Night At The Museum 2’s tally at $212.6m and X-Men Origins: Wolverine at $185m.

Meanwhile, Fox has Aliens In The Attic opening on 351 screens in Russia, five in Trinidad and four in Jamaica this weekend, timed with the US launch of the family film tomorrow (July 31). The CG aliens in the film star with live actors including Ashley Tisdale, Kevin Nealon, Andy Richter and Doris Roberts.

For Universal, Public Enemies expands to Egypt, Argentina, Australia, Chile, Lebanon, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Germany-speaking Switzerland. As of Thursday, Michael Mann’s John Dillinger biopic had taken $40.8m internationally. Other major international expansions for UPI include Will Ferrell-starring Land Of The Lost in the UK and Sam Raimi’s Drag Me To Hell in Spain.

Also, UPI opens Judd Apatow’s Funny People in Russia today (July 30), as the film launches in North America on July 31. Funny People stars Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana, Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzmann. It has a somewhat more serious subject matter — a comedian battling serious illness — than Apatow’s previous hits, 2005’s The 40-Year-Old Virgin and 2007’s Knocked Up.

Meanwhile, Paramount Pictures International has I Love You Man moving into Belgium, France, Poland and French-speaking Switzerland. Imagine That goes into Spain and the United Arab Emirates, while The Uninvited spreads to Portugal and Sex Drive to Spain.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures International has Bolt moving into Japan, to add to its current cume of $184.5m.

Those tenacious guinea pigs of G-Force - who knocked Harry Potter off the top of the US box office last weekend — dig into UK Argentina, Belgium, Colombia, Mexico, The Netherlands, South Africa and Venezuela.

Also, WDSMPI expands Up into France, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Spain and Taiwan. And Sandra Bullock’s romantic comedy The Proposal goes into Austria, Germany, Malaysia, the Philippines and Switzerland.

Warner has Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince going into its third weekend, but with no new openings this weekend. The cume to date internationally is $443.2m. Summer hit comedy The Hangover heads to Hong Kong to build on its cume of $103.6m

Sony Pictures Releasing International expands The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 into France on 450 prints and the UK on 411 prints. The latest cume is $10.4m. SPRI also sends Terminator Salvation into Mexico on 772 prints, to add to its cume of $238m.