Monster University Nudges "The Heat"To Take Box Office Title

Animated prequel "Monsters University" took home its second U.S. and Canadian box office title with $46.2 million in ticket sales over the weekend, fending off a red-hot debut from Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy in female
buddy comedy "The Heat."Outpacing industry projections, "The Heat"nabbed $40 million from Friday through Sunday and finished in second place, according to studio estimates. Big-budget, explosion-filled"White House Down" fell short of expectations with $25.7 million in its first three days,finishing the weekend in fourth place.
Hollywood forecasters had predicted each of
the new films would haul in at least $30 million
over the weekend.
Zombie thriller "World War Z," starring Brad Pitt
as an ex-U.N. crisis specialist fighting the
undead, slipped just one notch to third in its
second week in release, earning $29.8 million
over the weekend domestically. That brought
its global total to $259 million.
Family crowds kept "Monsters University" at
the top of the charts following a big debut a
week earlier, when it became 14th consecutive
film from Walt Disney Co's Pixar unit to open at
No. 1 on North American (U.S. and Canadian)
charts. Combined with global sales, the movie's
tally through Sunday crossed the $300 million
mark, Disney said. Adult comedy "The Heat" offered an alternative to the summer's family fare and male-oriented action flicks. The film stars
Bullock as an uptight FBI agent who is paired
with a loud and aggressive cop, played by
McCarthy, on a mission to bring down a drug
lord. The movie was produced for a modest sum
in the low-$40 millions.
"White House Down" stars Channing Tatum as
an aspiring Secret Service agent who finds
himself protecting the president, played by
Jamie Foxx, as Washington comes under attack.
The White House, U.S. Capitol and Air Force One
wind up in flames in the $150 million production
from "Independence Day" director Roland
Emmerich. The film's plot was similar to the
storyline of March release "Olympus Has Fallen."
Sony Pictures said the $25.7 million take was
short of expectations but it was confident
that strong exit polls and word of mouth from
people who had seen it would fuel the box
office going into the lucrative July 4 holiday
weekend.
In the No. 5 spot, Superman reboot "Man of
Steel" took in $20.8 million domestically during
its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to
nearly $250 million and its global take to above
$520 million

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