In this weekend's battle of the light-hearted sequels, Despicable Me 2 has come out on top of the weekend's movie charts in the United States and Canada beating Adam Sandler comedy Grown Ups 2, despite the children's animation having been released on July 3rd in both countries. Despicable Me 2 raked in $44.8 million (£29.6m) from Friday to Sunday, leaving Grown Ups 2 slightly behind with takings of $42.5 million (£28.1m) in its first US weekend, according to Reuters. Though Grown Ups 2 is only marginally behind on its first days of release, it can't be an easy pill to swallow for actor Sandler who not only had his movie panned by critics before it was even released, but also had to relive the ordeal of being mauled by a cheetah whilst on safari in Africa on David Letterman's show.

Steve Carell
Steve Carell With One Of His Minions.

Guillermo Del Toro's big-budget monsters vs. robots movie, Pacific Rim looked set to be a box office smash after it's exciting trailers and intriguing premise but had to contend with third place in a weekend dominated by the friendlier comedies. In an audience break-down provided by Forbes, "The film played 19% IMAX, 50% 3D, 61% male and 47% under-25 years old," showing a promising chunk of younger theatregoers.

Watch The Despicable Me 2 Trailer:

With Steve Carell voicing evil villain-turned homemaker father Gru, Despicable Me 2 explores what happens when one bad guy is enlisted to help catch another. The animated adventure is sweet and touching with the right measure of the mischievous thrown in to help keep kids (and their parents) entertained. In Grown Ups 2, Adam Sandler writes as well as stars in an immature comedy about a bunch of schoolfriends who, though now burdened with the responsibility of jobs and families, never really grew up - with slapstick goofs and crude humour to tell the next chapter of Lenny (Sandler) and his friends (Chris Rock, Kevin James and David Spade) as they reunite on the July Fourth holiday.

Watch The Grown Ups 2 Trailer: