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.

After a run of blockbuster weekends, late summer was proving the usual dumping ground for modest movies as business slowed and audiences eased into back-to-school mode.

That opened the door for "Tropic Thunder" to repeat as the weekend's box-office leader.

"There isn't that divide where there's a couple of huge movies coming every week," said DreamWorks spokesman Chip Sullivan.

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