'Transformers' only mon$ter in so-far anemic box-office summer

LOS ANGELES - "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" now rules this year's box office as the blockbuster sequel became 2011's top domestic hit with $261 million, according to studio estimates yesterday.

Paramount Pictures' sci-fi smash starring Shia LaBeouf remained No. 1 in its second weekend with $47 million and shot past "The Hangover Part II" to first-place on the domestic chart.

Debuting in second place with $28.1 million domestically was the Warner Bros. comedy "Horrible Bosses," featuring Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis as bumblers plotting against their nasty supervisors.

Opening at No. 3 with $21 million was Sony Pictures' family tale "Zookeeper," with Kevin James as an animal tender who gets romantic advice from the talking critters in his care.

Domestic business dipped overall, with revenues totaling $158 million, down 18 percent from the same weekend last year, when "Despicable Me" led with a $56.4 million debut, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com.

Despite predictions of a monster summer that would easily surpass last year's anemic one, revenues since the first weekend in May have slipped slightly behind those of summer 2010, according to Hollywood.com. With tickets costing more this year than last, that means admissions are down even further compared to summer 2010, when domestic attendance was among the lowest in the past decade.

The "Transformers" sequel is climbing fast, but other familiar titles such as "Cars 2," "X-Men: First Class," "Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides" and "Kung Fu Panda 2" are not living up to the domestic earnings of their predecessors.

Even "The Hangover Part II," which had a huge opening weekend, is coming in below the original one domestically.