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Box office update: 'Ice Age' freezes the competition with $16.5 million on Friday

No surprises here. The weekend’s only wide debut, Fox’s Ice Age: Continental Drift, was the top dog at the box office on Friday, earning $16.5 million. That solid bow puts the fourth chapter in the studio’s animated sequel on pace to not only win the weekend, but also to finish in the high-40s, assuming parents don’t mind keeping the kids indoors on a summer Saturday. Assuming those predictions are correct, Continental Drift should land between the second and third installments in the franchise, but fall short of its animated summer compadres, Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted and Brave, which both finished their first weekends with $60 million or better. But that’s only part of the picture, Ice Age has already proven that it’s a hit overseas, where it’s on track to collect an additional $250 million by the time the weekend comes to a close.

Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man held up fairly well, coming in second with $10.3 million on Friday — a drop of 50 percent from last week. The big-budget Andrew Garfield-Emma Stone reboot has made $176.2 million so far and should finish the weekend with a take in the low-30s. But it’s still lagging behind all three Sam Raimi Spidey flicks at this point in its run.

In third, Universal’s Mark Wahlberg comedy Ted snagged an impressive $6.9 million, bringing its total to date to $143.7 million. Less stellar, but still good enough for fourth place, was Warner Bros.’ male-stripper comedy Magic Mike, which made $3.4 million — whether not that sum came in the form of crinkled, booze-stained one dollar bills wasn’t known at press time. Last but not least, Brave rounded out the top 5 with $3.2 million, bringing its total to $188.1 million.

Source: google.com