Rain failed to dampen the spirits of hundreds of people who lined the "blue carpet" in Queenstown's Ballarat St mall on Saturday night to see the stars of Ice Age 4: Continental Drift.
The New Zealand premiere of 20th Century Fox's latest instalment, starring Sid and Scrat, saw 279 invited guests and competition winners enjoy canapes and refreshments ahead of the screening at Reading Cinemas.
The stars of the show were the first to walk down the blue carpet.
They were sheltered from the rain by assistants holding umbrellas and patiently posing for photographs with all of those who held coveted tickets to the screening.
Included in the audience was a group of young girls from Queenstown Primary School who won "The Shuffle" dance competition, which they performed outside the cinema in front of the media and those lining the carpet.
Other celebrity guests included television actress Miriama Smith, television presenter Jo Holley and television journalist Ingrid Leary and her family.
20th Century Fox New Zealand chose to hold the premiere in the resort as part of the Queenstown Winter Festival due to the "perfect fit" of dates.
The movie opens nationwide in cinemas on Thursday.
Its publicists said there was "no better environment" to launch the latest film in the blockbuster Ice Age family than the "icy wonderland of Queenstown, home of New Zealand's winter".
