Watch the Ice Age films in release order: Ice Age (2002), The Meltdown (2006), Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Continental Drift (2012) and Collision Course (2016). The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) is a Disney+ spin-off, and the Christmas and Easter specials are optional.
- Titles
- 9
- Films
- 8
- Series
- 1
- Watch time
- 10 hours
- Box office
- $3.22 billion
- Avg IMDb
- 6.4
Ice Age movies in release order
Here is every Ice Age title in the order it came out, 2002 to 2022: 8 films and 1 series. Optional entries are marked; you can skip them on a first watch.
| # | Title | Year | Type | Runtime | IMDb |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ice Age | 2002 | Film | 1h 21m | 7.5 |
| 2 | Ice Age: The Meltdown | 2006 | Film | 1h 31m | 6.8 |
| 3 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs | 2009 | Film | 1h 34m | 6.9 |
| 4 | Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas optional | 2011 | Film | 26m | 6.4 |
| 5 | Ice Age: Continental Drift | 2012 | Film | 1h 28m | 6.5 |
| 6 | Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade optional | 2016 | Film | 25m | 5.9 |
| 7 | Ice Age: Collision Course | 2016 | Film | 1h 35m | 5.7 |
| 8 | The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild | 2022 | Film | 1h 22m | 4.4 |
| 9 | Ice Age: Scrat Tales optional | 2022 | Series | 20m | 7.3 |
Release or chronological: which order is best?
For Ice Age, release order and story order are the same thing: every film picks up after the one before it. There is no prequel to slot in early and no flashback to reshuffle, so the list above is the only order you need.
Where to start
Start with Ice Age and go in release order, skipping the 3 optional titles on the first pass.
The essentials are 6 titles and about 9 hours, 12% less than the full run.
The three highest rated: Ice Age (7.5), Ice Age: Scrat Tales (7.3), and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (6.9).
Every Ice Age movie, explained
One entry per title in release order: what it is about, why it matters to the bigger story, who is in it and how it did.
No. 01 · 2002 · Film · 1h 21m
Ice Age
Manny the mammoth, Sid the loquacious sloth, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger go on a comical quest to return a human baby back to his father, across a world on the brink of an ice age.
Why it matters: A mammoth, a sloth and a sabre-tooth return a human baby to his tribe.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Chris Wedge
- Box office
- $383 million on a $59 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 7.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 76%
No. 02 · 2006 · Film · 1h 31m
Ice Age: The Meltdown
Diego, Manny and Sid return in this sequel to the hit animated movie Ice Age. This time around, the deep freeze is over, and the ice-covered earth is starting to melt, which will destroy the trio's cherished valley. The impending disaster prompts them to reunite and warn all the other beasts about the desperate situation.
Why it matters: The ice is melting, and Manny meets Ellie.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Carlos Saldanha
- Box office
- $661 million on a $80 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.8 · Rotten Tomatoes 56%
No. 03 · 2009 · Film · 1h 34m
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Times are changing for Manny the moody mammoth, Sid the motor mouthed sloth and Diego the crafty saber-toothed tiger. Life heats up for our heroes when they meet some new and none-too-friendly neighbors – the mighty dinosaurs.
Why it matters: Sid adopts three dinosaur eggs and the herd meets Buck underground.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Carlos Saldanha
- Box office
- $887 million on a $90 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.9 · Rotten Tomatoes 46%
No. 04 · 2011 · Film · 26m · optional
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas
When Sid accidentally destroys Manny's heirloom Christmas rock and ends up on Santa's naughty list, he leads a hilarious quest to the North Pole to make things right and ends up making things much worse. Now it's up to Manny and his prehistoric posse to band together and save Christmas for the entire world!
Why it matters: A 25-minute special: Sid breaks Manny's Christmas rock. Optional.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Karen Disher
- Scores
- IMDb 6.4
No. 05 · 2012 · Film · 1h 28m
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.
Why it matters: Scrat splits the continent and Manny's family is separated.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Michael Thurmeier and Steve Martino
- Box office
- $877 million on a $95 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 6.5 · Rotten Tomatoes 37%
No. 06 · 2016 · Film · 25m · optional
Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade
A harried prehistoric bird mother entrusts her precious, soon-to-hatch egg to Sid. When she recommends him to her neighbours, business booms at his new egg-sitting service. However, dastardly pirate bunny, Squint, who is seeking revenge on the herd, steals, camouflages and hides all the eggs. Once again, with Squint’s twin brother assisting, Manny, Diego and the rest of the gang come to the rescue and take off on a daring mission that turns into the world’s first Easter egg hunt.
Why it matters: A 25-minute Easter special. Optional.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Ricardo Curtis
- Scores
- IMDb 5.9
No. 07 · 2016 · Film · 1h 35m
Ice Age: Collision Course
Set after the events of Continental Drift, Scrat's epic pursuit of his elusive acorn catapults him outside of Earth, where he accidentally sets off a series of cosmic events that transform and threaten the planet. To save themselves from peril, Manny, Sid, Diego, and the rest of the herd leave their home and embark on a quest full of thrills and spills, highs and lows, laughter and adventure while traveling to exotic new lands and locations.
Why it matters: Scrat's acorn sends an asteroid toward Earth; Peaches gets married.
- Starring
- Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, and Denis Leary
- Director
- Michael Thurmeier
- Box office
- $409 million on a $105 million budget
- Scores
- IMDb 5.7 · Rotten Tomatoes 18%
No. 08 · 2022 · Film · 1h 22m
The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild
The fearless one-eyed weasel Buck teams up with mischievous possum brothers Crash & Eddie as they head off on a new adventure into Buck's home: The Dinosaur World.
Why it matters: Crash, Eddie and Buck in the Lost World; a Disney+ spin-off.
- Starring
- Simon Pegg, Vincent Tong, and Aaron Harris
- Director
- John Donkin
- Scores
- IMDb 4.4 · Rotten Tomatoes 19%
No. 09 · 2022 · Series · 20m · optional
Ice Age: Scrat Tales
Scrat experiences the ups and downs of fatherhood, as he and the adorable, mischievous Baby Scrat, alternately bond with each other and battle for ownership of the highly treasured Acorn.
Why it matters: Six silent shorts with Scrat and Baby Scrat. Optional.
- Starring
- Chris Wedge and Kari Wahlgren
- Scores
- IMDb 7.3
- Episodes
- 6
Ice Age box office and budgets
The 5 Ice Age films with reported numbers have grossed $3.22 billion worldwide on about $429 million in combined budgets, roughly 7.5 times what they cost. The biggest is Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs at $887 million, 28% of the franchise's total on its own, followed by Ice Age: Continental Drift ($877 million) and Ice Age: The Meltdown ($661 million).
Measured against what it cost, the best return belongs to Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, which made 9.9 times its $90 million budget. The weakest was Ice Age: Collision Course at 3.9 times its $105 million budget. As a rule of thumb, a film needs about two and a half times its budget at the box office to cover marketing and the theaters' cut.
The best and worst rated Ice Age movies
Across 9 rated titles, Ice Age averages 6.4 on IMDb. The top of the list is Ice Age at 7.5, then Ice Age: Scrat Tales (7.3) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (6.9). At the bottom: The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (4.4) and Ice Age: Collision Course (5.7).
- Ice Age7.5 · RT 76%
- Ice Age: Scrat Tales7.3
- Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs6.9 · RT 46%
- Ice Age: The Meltdown6.8 · RT 56%
- Ice Age: Continental Drift6.5 · RT 37%
- Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas6.4
- Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade5.9
- Ice Age: Collision Course5.7 · RT 18%
- The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild4.4 · RT 19%
Who appears in the most Ice Age movies
Ray Romano leads with 7 appearances as Manfred 'Manny' and Manny, ahead of John Leguizamo (7) and Denis Leary (7). Counted from each title's top-billed cast.
| Actor | Role | Titles | First and latest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Romano | Manfred 'Manny' / Manny | 7 | Ice Age (2002) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| John Leguizamo | Sid | 7 | Ice Age (2002) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| Denis Leary | Diego | 7 | Ice Age (2002) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| Seann William Scott | Crash | 6 | Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| Josh Peck | Eddie | 6 | Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| Queen Latifah | Ellie | 5 | Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) to Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016) |
| Chris Wedge | Scrat | 4 | Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) to Ice Age: Scrat Tales (2022) |
| Simon Pegg | Buck / Pythagorus Buck | 3 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) to The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) |
| Keke Palmer | Peaches | 3 | Ice Age: Continental Drift (2012) to Ice Age: Collision Course (2016) |
| Peter Ackerman | Dodo / Freaky Mammal | 2 | Ice Age (2002) to Ice Age: The Meltdown (2006) |
| Karen Disher | Scratte / Molehog | 2 | Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009) to Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011) |
Ice Age directors and creators
7 filmmakers have directed or created Ice Age; Carlos Saldanha has the most, with 2.
- Carlos SaldanhaIce Age: The Meltdown (2006) and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009)
- Michael ThurmeierIce Age: Continental Drift (2012) and Ice Age: Collision Course (2016)
- Chris WedgeIce Age (2002)
- Karen DisherIce Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011)
- Steve MartinoIce Age: Continental Drift (2012)
- Ricardo CurtisIce Age: The Great Egg-Scapade (2016)
- John DonkinThe Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022)
How long it takes to watch every Ice Age movie
All 9 titles add up to 10 hours: 10 hours of film and 0 hours of series, counting every episode. That is about 6 two-hour evenings, or 2 days of ten-hour binges. The essentials cut it to 9 hours. The longest film is Ice Age: Collision Course at 1h 35m.
The 4 best rated films: Ice Age, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Ice Age: The Meltdown, and Ice Age: Continental Drift.
Everything takes about 2 weeks; the essentials about 9 days.
Ice Age: Boiling Point is out February 5, 2027. Track what you've watched on the timeline and it counts the hours left.
Which Ice Age movies can you skip?
3 titles can go without losing the main story. They are side stories, spin-offs or entries the later films ignore. Dropping them saves 1 hours.
- Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas2011 · Film · 26m · optionalA 25-minute special: Sid breaks Manny's Christmas rock. Optional.
- Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade2016 · Film · 25m · optionalA 25-minute Easter special. Optional.
- Ice Age: Scrat Tales2022 · Series · 20m · optionalSix silent shorts with Scrat and Baby Scrat. Optional.
Upcoming Ice Age movies
- Ice Age: Boiling PointFebruary 5, 2027
Common questions
What order should I watch the Ice Age movies in?
Watch the Ice Age films in release order: Ice Age (2002), The Meltdown (2006), Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), Continental Drift (2012) and Collision Course (2016). The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild (2022) is a Disney+ spin-off, and the Christmas and Easter specials are optional.
How many Ice Age movies and shows are there?
There are 9 titles in the Ice Age franchise: 8 films and 1 series, released from 2002 to 2022. 1 more is announced: Ice Age: Boiling Point.
How long does it take to watch all the Ice Age movies?
About 10 hours for all 9 titles, counting every episode. The essentials only (6 titles) take about 9 hours.
What is the first Ice Age title in chronological order?
Ice Age, set in The ice age begins. In release order the first is Ice Age (2002).
Which Ice Age titles can I skip?
Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas, Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapade, and Ice Age: Scrat Tales. They are spin-offs, side stories or non-canon entries; the main story holds without them.
What is the next Ice Age release?
Ice Age: Boiling Point, out February 5, 2027.
What is the best Ice Age movie?
By IMDb score, Ice Age (2002) at 7.5, followed by Ice Age: Scrat Tales at 7.3.
What is the highest-grossing Ice Age movie?
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009), with $887 million worldwide. Ice Age films have made $3.22 billion in total.
Who has appeared in the most Ice Age movies?
Ray Romano, in 7 of them as Manfred 'Manny'.
What is the longest Ice Age movie?
Ice Age: Collision Course, at 1h 35m.
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