'Ice Age' ties 'Transformers' in weekend box office

Based on studio estimates released Sunday afternoon, "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs" and "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" topped the Fourth of July weekend box office with an estimated $42.5 million each, according to BoxOfficeMojo.com

It's unlikely that the two movies finished with exactly the same take at the box office, so a winner should emerge when final numbers are released Monday.

And yes, "Transformers" is about to close in on $300 million in just two weeks, making it the 2009 box office champion.

And yes, "The Hangover," which features nobody you ever heard of, topped $200 million at the box office so far this year to become the top comedy release of 2009.

Also of note is the continued success of the Disney/Pixar animated feature "UP" which passed "The Incredibles" to reach the No. 5 spot on the all-time computer animated box office list.

Only four films are ahead of "UP" -- "Shrek," "Shrek the Third," "Finding Nemo" and Shrek 2." By next week, "UP" will pass "Shrek" to reach the No. 4 spot, but that's as high at it will go.

Until Monday's final numbers are released, here's BoxOfficeMojo's WEEKEND TOP 5 STUDIO ESTIMATES, JULY 3-5, 2009:

Rank. Movie Title (Distributor)
Weekend Gross | Theaters | Total Gross | Week #

1. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (Fox)
$42.5 million | 4,099 | $67.5 million | 1

1. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Paramount (DreamWorks))
$42.5 million | 4,234 | $293.5 million | 2

3. Public Enemies (Universal)
$26.2 million | 3,334 | $41.0 million | 1

4. The Proposal (Buena Vista)
$12.8 million | 3,099 | $94.2 million | 3

5. The Hangover (Warner Bros.)
$10.4 million | 3,070 | $204.2 million | 5