Brian Truitt

USA TODAY

The hot dogs of the animated comedy Sausage Party cooked up a sizzling debut yet were ultimately shot down by the bad guys.

Suicide Squad, the latest in the DC Films series, was No. 1 for a second weekend in a row with $43.8 million, according to studio estimates from comScore. It's good news and bad news for the comic-book film: That's a brutal 67% drop from its August-record $133.7 million opening, but the 10-day domestic total is $222.9 million for the supervillain-centric affair.

Even with the diminishing returns and scathing reviews, Squad has made $465.4 million globally and should be considered a success, says comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It may not be an emotional hit with critics and some of the fans, but it's certainly a box office hit."

Jeff Bock, senior box office analyst for Exhibitor Relations, agrees. "What Warner Bros. and DC did was give audiences something that obviously they really wanted to see. This is a band of outsiders rolling up one of the top 20 debuts of all time. This is a big thing still, no matter how it breaks down."

Review: Crude food comes to life in smart 'Sausage Party'

Sausage Party, an R-rated raunch-fest featuring the voices of Seth Rogen, Kristen Wiig and others as food products, racked up $33.6 million to come in at No. 2. The film managed a B Cinemascore from audiences, but critics approved — Party is rocking an 82% approval rating on the review-aggregate site RottenTomatoes.com.

"Early on, everybody was marginalizing this movie because it looks like this frivolous ... concept, but audiences love original content if it's packaged the right way and if it's truly funny," Dergarabedian says.

In third place was the Disney family remake Pete's Dragon, starring Bryce Dallas Howard as a forest ranger who takes in a boy (Oakes Fegley) whose best friend is a giant green dragon. Its $21.5 million debut is the latest in a string of live-action kid-friendly movies that have struggled at the box office, though it played well with audiences (A Cinemascore) as well as critics (85% on Rotten Tomatoes).

"That's a head-scratcher," Deregarabedian says. "It would seem in the midst of all this edgy material that Pete's Dragon would be a sanctuary for families."

The heartwarming family films along the lines of Pete's and Steven Spielberg's The BFG "just aren't doing the business at the box office anymore," Bock adds. "Maybe that's just the sea change of where we are right now."

Review: 'Pete's' reboot is a treat for youngsters

The Matt Damon action movie Jason Bourne ran its domestic total to $126.8 million with a $13.6 million weekend — good enough for fourth place. Rounding out the top five is the comedy Bad Moms with $11.5 million.

The only other major movie out this week, Florence Foster Jenkins, earned $6.6 million. Starring Meryl Streep as a 1940s New York socialite with dreams of being an opera singer, the dramedy managed an A-minus Cinemascore and 86% at Rotten Tomatoes.

In limited release, the Western heist film Hell or High Water — brandishing Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine and an astounding 99% on Rotten Tomatoes — rode tall in 32 theaters with $592,000, an $18,500-per-screen average. "It certainly made its presence known," Dergarabedian says, "and I think will do better as it expands to more theaters and offers up something original."

Final figures are expected Monday.