The animated film starring Ray Romano, Queen Latifah and John Leguizamo came in first place in U.S. ticket sales, earning $46 million on its opening weekend. It is the fourth in the "Ice Age" series and the first one in 3-D.
"The Amazing Spider Man" came in second with $35 million.
The R-rated comedy "Ted" brought in $22.1 million.
The top 10 films of the weekend were:
1. "Ice Age: Continental Drift," $46 million ($95 million internationally).
2. "The Amazing Spider-Man," $35 million ($66.6 million internationally).
3. "Ted," $22.1 million, ($9.7 million internationally).
4. "Brave," $10.7 million, ($6.5 million internationally).
5. "Magic Mike," $9 million, ($3.3 million internationally).
6. "Savages," $8.7 million, ($1 million internationally).
7. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," $5.6 million.
8. "Katy Perry: Part of Me," $3.7 million, ($1 million internationally).
9. "Moonrise Kingdom," $3.7 million, ($270,000 internationally).
10. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," $3.5 million ($4.6 million internationally).
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
