'Thunder' reigns again with $16.1 million weekend

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.

Universal's "Death Race" — an update of 1975's "Death Race 2000," with Jason Statham starring as a driver in a kill-or-be-killed auto race of the future — opened at No. 3 with $12.3 million.

The weekend's other new wide releases, Ice Cube's sports drama "The Longshots" and Rainn Wilson's music comedy "The Rocker," opened weakly.

"The Longshots" — an MGM-Weinstein Co. release starring Ice Cube as a former high school star coaching his niece, the first girl to play Pop Warner football — came in at No. 8 with $4.3 million.