Tops At the Box Office: 'Monsters University' Schools 'The Heat', 'White House Down' Stalls Out

1. Monsters University- $46.2M/$171M
Holding strong in its second week is Pixar's Monsters University, slipping only 44% and holding off The Heat and White House Down. As Pixar moves into a new strategy of developing fewer sequels, they have to be encouraged by the film's $300M worldwide haul.
2. The Heat- $40M
It's become fashionable to knock Melissa McCarthy as a flash in the pan, that her post-Bridesmaids success would quickly dry up. Maybe so, but now's not that time. The Heat opened with a mighty $40M, surpassing the $34M debut of Identity Thief which went on to gross a surprising $170M. Whether The Heat can reach those numbers remains to be seen, and there's very little to compare it to as the female buddy cop genre....well, it doesn't really exist. We do know that Sandra Bullock has a proven comedy track record with the Miss Congeniality movies, and judging by the 'A-' Cinemascore the word of mouth could lead to plenty of repeat viewings.
3. World War Z- $29.8M/$123.7M
The $170M World War Z has managed to reel in globally has to be taken with a serious helping of salt. While the numbers are good enough to have Brad Pitt developing a sequel, if analyst calculations are true then it still needs another $200M just to break even.
4. White House Down- $25.7M
Have we reached the point of Channing Tatum overexposure? Tatum, who starred in five movies in 2012 and amassed three #1 hits, has gotten off to a relatively slow 2013. Side Effects didn't make much of an impact at the box office, while G.I. Joe: Retaliation did extremely well but it was with Tatum mostly on the sidelines. Now Roland Emmerich's big budget action flick White House Down opens with a soft $25.7M, failing to beat out two holdovers and a comedy few had a lot of expectations for. It's possible there was some blowback after Olympus Has Fallen used the exact same storyline just a few months ago, but the 'A' Cinemascore suggests those who saw it walked away happy. But chances for a strong hold in the second week are slim as Disney's The Lone Ranger will steal their target audience. Tatum and Jamie Foxx don't come cheap, and Emmerich never met a budget he couldn't bust, so it may be tough to recoup the $150M+ it reportedly cost.
5. Man of Steel- $20.8M/$248.66M
6. This Is the End- $8.7M/$74.7M
7. Now You See Me- $5.5M/$104.7M
Marks the 14th $100M-grossing film of 2013.
8. Fast & Furious 6- $2.4M/$233.3M
9. Star Trek Into Darkness- $2M/$220.5M
10. The Internship- $1.4M/$41.7M