Many moviegoers looking to escape the heat of summer found it in The Heat at their multiplexes. The Melissa McCarthy-Sandra Bullock comedy, which analysts thought would battle the Channing Tatum-Jamie Foxx thriller-comedy White House Down for second place at the box office, instead came away the hands-down, runner-up winner with a better-than-expected $39 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates. Down, on the other hand, took in just $25.7 million, clearly a blow to Sony, which had reportedly spent $150 million to make the movie. With Disney/Pixar's Monsters University easily holding on to the top position at the box office for a second week with an estimated $46 million and with Man of Steel adding about $20.8 million to its gross in its third week, five films wound up the weekend with more than $20 million -- a remarkable result given the fact that the number of regular moviegoers remains virtually static from season to season.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo:
1. Monsters University, $46.1 million; 2. The Heat, $40 million; 3. World War Z, $29.8 million; 4. White House Down, $25.7 million; 5. Man of Steel, $20.8 million; 6. This Is the End, $8.7 million; 7. Now You See Me, $5.5 million; 8. Fast and Furious 6, $2.4 million; 9. Star Trek: Into Darkness, $2 million; 10. The Internship, $1.4 million.