'Ice Age 2' melts box office hearts

The animated comedy opens at number one on the London chart, while 'The Squid and the Whale' debuts at four.

Apr 11 2006

'Ice Age 2: The Meltdown' opened at number one at the London box office over the weekend, taking £223,626 from a whopping 16 screens.

And with Easter fast approaching, the cute, computer-generated critters will likely rule the chart roost for a while yet.

Continuing the kiddie theme, Amanda Byne's junior chick flick 'She's the Man' opened at number six, while family favourites Ant and Dec went straight in at a slightly disappointing number ten with 'Alien Autopsy'.

The only other new entry was former Time Out film of the week 'The Squid and the Whale', which made a respectable debut at number four, taking £44,328 from seven screens.

Elsewhere, the risible 'Basic Instinct 2' fell from four to seven, while the brilliant 'Three Burials' has a disappointing fall from five to eight.

Next week, the humour-free 'Scary Movie 4' will doubtless scare up some undeserving business in cinemas, while 'Junebug' and 'Glastonbury' should also do well. That said, we confidently predict that 'Ice Age 2' will hang onto the top spot.