The killer robots of 'Pacific Rim' were no match for the diminutive yellow minions of 'Despicable Me 2' at the box office over the weekend.

'Despicable Me 2,' the animated sequel from Comcast Corp.'s Universal Pictures, collected an estimated $44.8 million in the U.S. and Canada. That boosted its total domestic haul to $229 million, while its international gross nearly doubled in a week to $243.2 million.

'Despicable Me 2' was able to hold the top spot in its second weekenddespite new competition in the family market from 'Grown Ups 2,' which opened at No. 2 with a solid $42.5 million. The weekend's other new release, 'Pacific Rim,' took third place and collected $38.3 million, a so-so sum for the movie, which had a budget of nearly $200 million.

The performance of 'Grown Ups 2' was welcome news for Sony Corp.'s Sony Pictures Entertainment, which had two high-profile, big-budget flops this summer with 'White House Down' and 'After Earth.' Gross-out comedy 'Grown Ups 2' cost about $80 million to make and gave star Adam Sandler a much-needed hit after turns in flops like 'Jack and Jill' and 'That's My Boy.'

'One of the things about the DNA of 'Grown Ups 2' that is so terrific is it really does play to everybody as well as all parts of the country,' said Rory Bruer, Sony Pictures Entertainment's president of world-wide distribution.