The iciest event of the year “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” caved in at a thrilling P 36.5 million nationwide in its first 3-days of release since it opened last July 3 (Friday) in Phil. theaters.

With its 3-day-weekend Manila-wide opening of P 27.9 million, the third installment of the Ice Age franchise achieved the Biggest Opening Weekend for Animation this year so far, surpassing “Monsters vs. Aliens”’ P12.9 million 3-day weekend.  It now ranks as the 2nd Biggest Opening Weekend for a Fox animated film All-Time succeeding “Ice Age 2’s” 5-day opening feat of P31.5 million.

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” once again finds the eclectic mix of Manny and Ellie the mammoths, the saber-toothed Diego, Sid the Sloth and Scrat in the middle of an adventure that is thrice thrilling in the midst of an unfamiliar terrain filled enormous dinosaurs.

Among the top theaters who packed in spectacular box-office receipts are Trinoma (P2.51 million); SM Mall of Asia (P2.22 million); The Block/SM North Edsa (P 1.49 million); Glorietta 4 (P1.48 million); Powerplant (P1.31 million); Alabang Town Center (P1.29 million); SM Megamall (P1.28 million); Greenbelt 3 (P1.08 million); Gateway (P1.03 million) and Eastwood (P909, 531).

The following theaters also hauled in dino-like receipts that includes Ayala Cebu with P 902, 268; Robinsons Galleria (868, 773); Robinson’s Ermita (P 802, 720); Theatremall (P 795, 528); Filinvest (P 762, 042); Shang Cineplex (P752, 248); Market-Market (P 685, 980); SM Cebu (654, 898); Sta. Lucia East (P 525, 188) and Gaisano Davao (P 504, 634).

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” is still showing in theaters nationwide (also available in digital 3D in selected theaters – Trinoma, Gateway, Robinson’s Galleria, The Block and Mall of Asia cinemas) from 20th Century Fox distributed by Warner Bros.

The Ice Age universe introduces a new adventure-loving character named Buck (voiced by Simon Pegg, “Star Trek”) – a swashbuckling, slightly crazed one-eyed weasel who accidentally fell into the gargantuan dino world in “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.”

The Ice Age gang headed by Manny along with Diego, Ellie, Crash and Eddie meet and greet Buck when Sid was teethed by a momma T-Rex in trying to keep the dinosaur babies as his own.   The lone mammal in a world of giant lizards, Buck has been isolated for a long time – maybe too long; he’s prone to talking to the trees and shrubs surrounding him.   There, he had a fateful encounter with Rudy, a terrifying albino dinosaur who took out Buck’s eye – and Buck, the dino’s tooth – during their initial, fateful encounter.  Buck’s adventurous spirit and daredevil antics are embraced by sibling possums Crash and Eddie both of whom we met in “Ice Age: The Meltdown,” eagerly joins Buck below the ice to kick some dino butt.

Co-screenwriter Yoni Brenner notes that finding the origins of Buck’s bigger than life antics was a priority.  “Carlos [Saldanha] wanted to make sure we defined a reason for Buck’s craziness.  “We wanted to ground his behavior, at least a little bit.  He had to be not only really funny, but make sense from a character point of view.”

Buck has an anatomical advantage in dealing with the dangerous environment and his even more foreboding arch nemesis Rudy; character designer Peter de Sève, the animators, under supervising lead animator Galen Tan Chu, plus the film’s rigging department, made the character super-bendy in every direction.  “Buck is a little crazy, as well as really athletic, so we really amped up his ability to twist, stretch and spiral,” says de Sève.   Buck having only one good eye made him even more visually arresting, but presented some performance challenges for the animators.

In casting the role, the filmmakers wanted a voice that stood out from their previously established characters.  “Every character in the ‘Ice Age’ films has a distinct voice, but they all somehow fit together,” says producer Lori Forte. Ultimately, it was British actor Simon Pegg who got the nod to voice Buck.  “Simon has great comedic timing, and his work brought a completely different flavor to Buck,” Forte continues. “We wanted a quality that conveyed a worldliness and range of experience that hadn’t yet been heard in an ‘Ice Age’ movie.”  Pegg, who is currently on view as the starship engineer Scotty in director J.J. Abrams’ reboot of “Star Trek,” and who was acclaimed for his work in the edgy comedies “Shaun of the Dead” and “Hot Fuzz,” says he enjoyed the character, whom the actor gave a Cockney accent. “Buck really sparked my imagination.  He’s full of energy and larger than life.  I saw him as a cross between Indiana Jones and [“Apocalypse Now’s” powerful but demented] Col. Kurtz.”

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” will open July 3 nationwide in (Phils.) theaters (also available in DIGITAL 3D in selected theaters) from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

Manny and Diego of “Ice Age” phenomenon are back the third time around in “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” as they step into the uncharted terrain of the dinosaurs to save their pal Sid the sloth from extinction.

The Ice Age gang’s game-changing, grand adventure starts out on familiar turf: the makeshift family comprised of mammoth Manny, his wife Ellie (who’s now expecting a mini-mammoth), Sid the sloth, Diego the saber-toothed tiger, and possums Crash and Eddie, is shifting as each finds his or her place within the family.

Manny, the de facto leader of the herd, prepares to face a new challenge – parenthood.  He’s taking it very, very seriously, going so far as trying to baby-proof nature itself by removing the innumerable stones, twigs and other potential “hazards” around him.  Frantic preparations for fatherhood are clearly something that Manny’s alter-ego, Ray Romano, identifies with.  “It wasn’t that different from my own life,” he notes. “Getting crazy preparing for a new arrival comes with the territory.”

Romano also appreciated Manny’s arc through the three “Ice Age” films.  “He was kind of a misanthrope in the first film, with a real chip on his shoulder,” he says.  “Little by little, Manny’s developed friendships, found love, and become a more well-rounded guy.”

Manny’s best pal, saber-toothed tiger Diego, is facing a different kind of crisis: Lately he’s been feeling more like a kitty cat than a fearsome feline, and fears that joining the herd is making him lose his edge.  Instead of participating in the preparations for the baby’s arrival, Diego heads out on his own in search of adventure, wondering if it’s time for him to move on from the herd.  “He’s breaking off on his own,” says actor-comedian Denis Leary, who completed voicing his third turn as Diego before returning to work on his hit series “Rescue Me.”  “Diego also has some great moments with Ellie at a critical time for her, and that was a lot of fun to play.”

Leary continues to marvel at the franchise’s broad appeal, having witnessed it at screenings of the first two films.  “I was with adults, teens, kids – everybody had a great time,” he remembers.   What about the notion of a secret world lying under the ice?  It’s great, says Leary, an avid amateur hockey player and fan:  “But for me, personally, anytime there’s ice, I want to be on top of it, not below it.”

Ray Romano (Manny’s voice) played the lead in CBS’ most respected tv sitcom hit “Everybody Loves Raymond.” He won numerous awards for his work in the sitcom, including an Emmy® for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series in 2002, and received two additional Emmys, as an executive producer, for outstanding comedy series, in 2003 and 2005.  After stints at odd jobs, including futon mattress delivery man and bank teller by day, and journeyman comedian by night, he decided to leave the 9-5 ranks and pursue comedy full-time, eventually winning a standup comedy competition sponsored by a major New York radio station.

Following that success, he continued to regularly appear at comedy clubs throughout the country, leading to appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and then with Jay Leno.  He was eventually invited to appear on “Late Night with David Letterman.”   He made his big screen debut as the voice of Manny the woolly mammoth, in “Ice Age,” and subsequently starred in the follow-up hit, “Ice Age: The Meltdown.” He has also starred in “Eulogy,” “Welcome to Mooseport” with Gene Hackman, “Grilled” with Kevin James and Burt Reynolds, “The Grand” with Woody Harrelson, and “95 Miles To Go,” an autobiographical documentary of his life on tour.  He is the author of The New York Times best-selling book based on his comedy,  “Everything and a Kite,” as well as a children’s book, “Raymie, Dickie, and The Bean: Why I Love and Hate My Brothers.”

Denis Leary  (Diego’s voice) was nominated for a Golden Globe as best actor in a drama, as well as an Emmy for best actor in a drama, and best writing – all for his critically acclaimed hit series “Rescue Me,” which he co-produces with longtime creative partner Peter Tolan.  For the acclaimed HBO film “Recount,” Leary was nominated for a Golden Globe in the category of best performance by an actor in a supporting role in a series, mini-series or motion picture made for television, as well as an Emmy as outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or movie.  In his long and varied movie career Leary has starred in the box office hits “Wag the Dog,” “A Bug’s Life,” “Ice Age,” “The Thomas Crown Affair,” “Suicide Kings” and ‘Ice Age: The Meltdown.”   He gained critical praise for his portrayal of a cowboy junkie in the indie hit “Jesus’ Son,” as a drug-addled Irish gangster in “Monument Ave.,” as an ethereal trumpet player in “The Secret Lives of Dentists,” and as a hard-working Southern farmer in Terence Davies’s “The Neon Bible.”  His first big project with director Ted Demme, “The Ref,” has become a Christmas-time cult classic.

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” opens July 3 in theaters nationwide from 20th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.

The world’s beloved prehistoric squirrel/rat known as Scrat is back in “Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs.” Ice Age’s 3^rd installment ups the stakes even more for the hapless yet indefatigable Scrat, giving him a rival for the nut – a wily and attractive female squirrel/rat named Scratte (rhymes with “sautee”). Their battle of the sexes brings a new level of fun, action and especially romance to the beleaguered figure.

The burgeoning love and the fight for the nut go hand in hand for the rodent couple, no more so than during a scene that has them tangling – then tangoing – to Lou Rawls’ classic “You’ll Never Find Another Love Like Mine.” “When we sat down to map out the scene,” recalls director Carlos Saldanha, we said, ‘Okay, they’re fighting over the nut. What can we do beyond a standard fight scene that will make it romantic, but still action-packed?” The resulting sequence, like so many others, points to the filmmakers’ desire to break new ground with each “Ice Age” film. (Even the object of their pursuit – the nut – gets an expanded role in this film, warbling a heartfelt tune based on Gilbert O’Sullivan’s “Alone Again (Naturally),” with special lyrics by co-screenwriter Yoni Brenner.)

Scrat, whose raison d’être is an elusive acorn, is initially envisioned for “Ice Age” as a peripheral character. Scrat’s explosive popularity in that first film’s teaser trailer led the filmmakers to expand the role significantly. “Ice Age: The Meltdown” explored new attitudes and frustrations for Scrat, as his quest remained unfulfilled. Not only did he instigate the meltdown and ensuing flood, Scrat ended up saving the day. The character’s exasperated squeaks, squeals, squawks, grunts and groans are again voiced by Chris Wedge, who helmed “Ice Age” and executive produced the two follow-ups.

Scratte, like all the “Ice Age” characters, was designed by noted artist Peter de Sève, who has been with the films since the inception of “Ice Age.” He worked to make the two rodents physically similar, but with important distinctions. “Scratte is smarter than Scrat,” he points out. “And she’s more refined and evolved.”

Karen Disher, who heads the film’s story department, voices Scratte. But Disher’s responsibilities extended beyond her vocal work. Unlike the film’s main story, scripted by Michael Berg & Peter Ackerman and Mike Reiss and Yoni Brenner, from a story by Jason Carter Eaton, the story department, working closely with Saldanha, created the Scrat-Scratte scenes. Disher and her team embraced the task of inventing new challenges for the beloved Scrat. “Working on the Scrat-Scratte scenes is the purest form of animation,” she notes.

“Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” opens very soon this July in theaters nationwide from 20^th Century Fox to be distributed by Warner Bros.