LOS ANGELES -- The action comedy Tropic Thunder weathered a rush of new movies to remain No. 1 for a second-straight weekend with $16.1 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Paramount-DreamWorks release -- starring Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr. and Jack Black as actors caught up in real battle while shooting a war movie -- raised its 12-day total to $65.7 million.
Tropic Thunder came in just ahead of Sony's campus comedy The House Bunny, which debuted in second place with $15.1 million. The House Bunny stars Anna Faris as an ostracized Playboy bunny who becomes den mother to a sorority of campus misfits.
After a run of blockbuster weekends, late summer was proving the usual dumping ground for modest movies as business slowed and audiences eased into back-to-school mode.
That opened the door for Tropic Thunder to repeat as the weekend's box-office leader.
Overall movie revenues of $3.9 billion are slightly ahead of last summer's record pace. But higher admission prices mean the actual number of tickets sold is down, according to box-office tracker Media By Numbers.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
1. Tropic Thunder, $16.1 million.
2. The House Bunny, $15.1 million.
3. Death Race, $12.3 million.
4. The Dark Knight, $10.3 million.
5. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, $5.7 million.
6. Pineapple Express, $5.6 million.
7. Mirrors, $4.9 million.
8. The Longshots, $4.304 million.
9. Mamma Mia!, $4.303 million.
10. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, $4.1 million.
-- The Associated Press
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