(AP) — Universal’s minions ran away with the box office for the second week in a row.

With $44.8 million in domestic ticket sales, the animated sequel “Despicable Me 2” outdid the debuts of the Adam Sandler comedy “Grown Ups 2” and Guillermo Del Toro’s monsters-versus-robots action flick “Pacific Rim.”

Sony was pleased with Sandler’s second-best movie opening of his career with $42.5 million in sales.

But the third-place finish of the big-budget movie “Pacific Rim” with $38.3 million represented a disappointing start for Warner Bros. and partner Legendary Entertainment.