After eight years of waiting for another theatrical adventure, Ice Age 6 has landed a release date. The animated movies follow the adventures of Manny (Ray Romano), Sid (John Leguizamo), and Diego (Denis Leary), and also feature appearances by Scrat, in his never-ending quest to finally get an acorn. The first Ice Age film was released in 2002 and was a critical and commercial hit, spawning a multimedia franchise including four sequels and a spinoff movie on Disney+ led by Simon Pegg.
Following the recent announcement of the movie’s development, Disney has announced that Ice Age 6 will be released on December 18, 2026. This will break the franchise’s previous trend of releasing earlier in the year, with the first two having hit theaters in March of their respective years, while the previous three released in July. Ice Age 6 will also be taking a slot that Disney had previously planned for a new untitled Star Wars movie.
What The Release Date Means For Ice Age 6
The Sixth Film Will Be The Franchise’s First Theatrical Release Under Disney
Ice Age 6‘s December 2026 release date means that it will have been more than 10 years since audiences last saw Manny, Sid, and Diego on the big screen in 2016’s Ice Age: Collision Course. It will also be the first theatrical Ice Age movie made under Disney since the company purchased 20th Century Fox, who previously distributed the animated comedy adventures.
The first five Ice Age movies were also produced by Blue Sky Studios, which was owned by Fox, but has since been shut down after the Disney purchase. Since the purchase, the film The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild and the series Ice Age: Scrat Tales have been released on Disney+, with Nickelodeon Animation Studio vet Bardel Entertainment taking over production from Blue Sky on the former, while the latter served as the now-defunct studio’s final production.
Related
9 Characters Ice Age 6 Needs To Bring Back After 8 Years
Now that the sixth main Ice Age movie has been confirmed, there is a lot of speculation over which characters from the franchise need to come back.
Ice Age 6 will also be released during the holiday season, which is close to when Disney usually releases its own animated films. Walt Disney Animation Studio’s last three films, Wish, Strange World, and Encanto were all released in late November, though interestingly, only one of the three movies was a success, while the former two were infamous box office bombs. Moana 2 will also follow the same pattern by being released on November 27, though is projected to top the record-breaking Inside Out 2 from earlier in the year.
Our Take On Ice Age 6’s Release Date
A 10-Year Break May Have Been Just What The Franchise Needed
Although Ice Age: Collision Course was not warmly received by audiences or critics, earning only an 18% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, having the characters take a break from the big screen for more than a decade could be just what they needed to create excitement for their return. By the time Ice Age 6 comes out in 2026, it will have been 24 years since the original film, giving the franchise nostalgia to those who grew up with it. Those fans may also now want to share it with their own kids.
After only having a couple of projects released on Disney+, it’s also nice to see that Disney is giving the Ice Age franchise a chance to continue to grow by putting a new movie in theaters. The series were Blue Sky Studios’ most popular films, putting them on the map before they went on to produce everything from Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who to The Peanuts Movie. Even though the studio is now closed, Disney releasing Ice Age 6 shows that the franchise is Blue Sky Studios’ biggest legacy.
Source: Disney
Ice Age
The Ice Age franchise is a popular animated film series produced by Blue Sky Studios, centering around a group of prehistoric animals surviving the Pleistocene ice age. Led by a woolly mammoth named Manny, the films feature his adventures alongside a sloth named Sid and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego. Known for its humor, heartwarming themes, and memorable characters, the series has expanded to include spin-offs, short films, and TV specials. The franchise continues to captivate audiences with its colorful animation, family-friendly humor, and ongoing stories of friendship and survival.
- Created by
- Chris Wedge , Carlos Saldanha
- Upcoming Films
- Ice Age 7
- Character(s)
- Manny , Sid , Diego , Ellie , Scrat , Peaches , Buck , Crash , Eddie
- Video Game(s)
- Ice Age: Scrat’s Nutty Adventure
Summary
The Ice Age franchise is a popular animated film series produced by Blue Sky Studios, centering around a group of prehistoric animals surviving the Pleistocene ice age. Led by a woolly mammoth named Manny, the films feature his adventures alongside a sloth named Sid and a saber-toothed tiger named Diego. Known for its humor, heartwarming themes, and memorable characters, the series has expanded to include spin-offs, short films, and TV specials. The franchise continues to captivate audiences with its colorful animation, family-friendly humor, and ongoing stories of friendship and survival.
