Disney’s animated prequel adds $4.3m (£2.8m) for a second straight week at number one; Universal’s The World’s End suffers from the heat, debuting with $3.2m (£2.1m).

Holding off competition from both the sun and The World’s End, Monsters University has retained top spot at the UK box office for a second consecutive week.

Disney’s animated sequel grossed $4.3m (£2.79m), recording the highest site average of the top 20 at $8,044 (£5,246). The latest feature from Pixar Animation Studios has now taken $13.2m (£8.63m) in the UK.

Monsters University will be hoping for a boost from the school holidays as it aims to track down previous Pixar results in the UK. First in its path: Cars 2 and Cars at $23.95m (£15.6m) and $25.2m (£16.45m), respectively.

Monsters Inc’s mighty $58.1m (£37.9m) UK haul may be more difficult to match.

UNIVERSAL

The much-anticipated closer to Edgar Wright’s Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy, The World’s End, got off to a solid, if unspectacular, start in the UK, having to settle for second place in the process.

At an average of $6,128 (£3,997), the sci-fi comedy grossed $3.2m (£2.11m) and arguably suffered as a result of the continued heatwave in the UK.

Compared to its predecessor’s, The World’s End opened ahead of Shaun of the Dead ($2.5m/£1.6m) but behind Hot Fuzz ($9.1m/£5.9m including $2.5m/£1.6m in previews). It’s worth noting that both Shaun and Hot Fuzz avoided blockbuster season, opening in April and February, respectively.

Hot Fuzz went on to take an excellent $32.2m (£20.99m) in the UK, but the first target for The World’s End is Shaun’s $10.3m (£6.69m) tally.

Showing no sign of slowing down despite the weather though was Despicable Me 2, despite falling from second to third.

Falling only 18% in its fourth weekend, the animated sequel added $2.8m (£1.8m) through Universal to cross the £30m mark and stand at a formidable $46.4m (£30.26m). It is only the third film this year to achieve the £30m feat, following Les Misérables and Iron Man 3.

With the school holidays starting, there’s every reason to expect to see Despicable Me 2 continue its prosperous run for many weeks to come.

WARNER BROS

Crossing the £5m mark in its second weekend, Warner Bros’ Pacific Rim added $2.04m (£1.3m) as it fell two places to fourth.

Guillermo del Toro’s latest feature stands at $7.9m (£5.2m) after ten days in play and has overtaken Hellboy to become del Toro’s third-best UK performer behind sequels Blade II and Hellboy 2: The Golden Army.

EONE

Continuing its excellent UK run, eOne’s Now You See Me dropped just 16% in its third weekend, conjuring up a further $1.4m (£922,669).

The heist thriller has replicated its domestic success and has currently grossed $11.1m (£7.2m) in the UK, a result that’s made all the more impressive given both the crowded marketplace and the hot weather.

Its performance showcases savvy counter-programming from eOne in a franchise-heavy summer season, and follows other excellent runs for eOne in 2013 for the likes of The Impossible ($20.3m/£13.3m) and Behind the Candelabra ($4.99m/£3.3m).

PARAMOUNT

Zombie thriller World War Z is up to $21.2m (£13.8m) in the UK, after adding $371,000 (£242,057) this weekend through Paramount. 

FOX

The Internship has now laughed its way to $4.4m (£2.8m) in the UK through Fox, grossing $348,000 (£226,680) as it fell to seventh.

KOCH MEDIA

Released on 126 screens through Koch Media, The Frozen Ground recorded a $138,000 (£90,024) UK debut at a somewhat soft average of $1,095 (£714). However, the thriller based on true events was the week’s second highest new entry, charting ninth.

SONY

Apocalyptic comedy This is the End is up to $6.1m (£3.95m) in the UK, following a $114,000 (£74,000) fourth weekend through Sony.

SODA

Leading the art house new entries ahead of Breathe In and Easy Money was Soda’s Wadjda, taking $57,000 (£37,000) from its 39 sites.

Haifaa Al-Mansour’s critically acclaimed debut opens in four extra sites from today, and is currently holding in 19 sites and expanding to a further nine sites for this coming weekend.

Curzon Film World

Opening in 30 sites, Curzon Film World’s Breathe In scored a $42,000 (£27,129) UK debut, including previews. That result is down on director Drake Doremus’ previous film, Like Crazy, which opened with $144,000 (£93,981), albeit from considerably more sites (104).

UPCOMING RELEASES

This week’s only saturation release belongs to Fox’s The Wolverine (opens July 25), the latest in the long-running X-Men franchise.

Metrodome’s Frances Ha receives a wide release, while Dogwoof’s Blackfish and Artificial Eye’s Days of Grace are among the films receiving a limited release.