Now that February is behind us, we can put to bed one of its hottest topics: that being the $600 million (and counting) worldwide success of Deadpool for 20th Century Fox. It is by far the surprise hit of the year. But for other Fox properties, $600 million is nothing. Try the $877 million worldwide gross of Ice Age: Continental Drift in 2012. Not bad for a movie that got very little attention from sites like ours.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s a formulaic movie for kids, of course it does well. But it didn’t start out that way for the Ice Age franchise. The first film, which debuted in 2002, was a surprise critical hit with a relatively under-the-radar cast. When you compare a jurassic-era road trip movie led by Ray Romano, John Leguizamo and Denis Leary to say, Pixar’s buddy comedy Monsters Inc.,led by Billy Crystal and John Goodman, it wouldn’t seem to stand a chance. But the original Ice Age found a lot of life, a 77% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an eventual Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature.

That first movie only grossed $383 million worldwide, but it did so on a modest $59 million dollar budget, creating what would go on to become a very lucrative franchise — spanning feature films, video games and one-off DVD releases. Over the years, Ice Age the brand has grown considerably. And with the brand’s rise, box office figures increased with every subsequent release:

2002: Ice Age makes $383m on a budget of $59m

2006: Ice Age: The Meltdown makes $660m on a budget of $80m

2009: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs makes $886m on a budget of $90m

2012: Ice Age: Continental Drift makes $877m on a budget of $95m

On July 22, Fox will release Ice Age: Collision Course with its prehistoric acorn-chasing squirrel Scrat all suited up for a trip to outer space on the poster. It’s easy to write this franchise off as trite garbage churned out for kids, but the truth is more complex. The influence of Ice Age‘s success has propelled Blue Sky Studios into the conversation as one of the ten most successful brands in the film industry. According to Box Office Mojo, you’ve got the big guns — Marvel Comics, Legendary Pictures, Dreamworks Animation, Lucasfilm, Pixar and DC Comics — at the top. But right below them is Nickelodeon and Blue Sky. Ahead of brands like Walt Disney Animation Studios, Illumination Entertainment and Sony Pictures Animation. This is because the success of the Ice Age franchise has helped fund projects like two Rio movies and Horton Hears a Who!

In this new trailer, released earlier today, the film continues to blame the apocalypse on Scrat the squirrel and introduces a character known as the Shangri Llama (clever), voiced by Modern Familystar Jesse Tyler Ferguson.