Thunder Rolls Over Bunny, Death Race

The Ben Stiller comedy is No. 1 at the box office for the second week in a row

It takes more than sorority girls and muscle cars to knock Ben Stiller and Co. out of the No. 1 spot.

Tropic Thunder held on to the box office crown for the second weekend in a row, with an estimated $16.1 million in ticket sales, bringing its total gross to $65.7 million.

The politically incorrect action-comedy starring Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. out-earned four new releases, which might give strength to speculations last week that its underwhelming debut was caused by the Olympics (or specifically, Michael Phelps).

The Anna Faris-led comedy The House Bunny, about a booted Playboy bunny living in a college sorority, hopped into second place, with $15.1 million in ticket sales. Jason Statham's futuristic kill-or-be-killed action flick Death Race opened third with $12.4 million.

The week's other new releases weren't near as strong: Ice Cube's family-friendly The Longshots and Rainn Wilson's The Rocker, finished No. 8 and No. 12, respectively.

While it's impossible to feel sorry for a movie that's grossed $489.2 in just six weeks, The Dark Knight failed to break any records for the first time since its release. Still, it earned another $10.3 million in ticket sales, enough to claim the No. 4 spot at the box office.   

This week's record-breaker was Mamma Mia! which surpassed Hairspray as the highest-grossing movie-musical of all time. The movie, starring Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan, earned another $4.3 million this weekend, bringing its total to $124.5 million over six weeks, compared to Hairspray, which had a total domestic gross of almost $119 million.

Here's a recap of the weekend's box office sales based on Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations:

1. Tropic Thunder, $16.1 million
2. The House Bunny, $15.1 million
3. Death Race, $12.4 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, $4.3 million
9. Mamma Mia! $4.3 million 
10. The Mummy: The Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, $4 million