The No. 1 movie in North American theaters was Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” which sold about $59 million in its second weekend for a new domestic total of $227 million, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles ticketing statistics. But the movie capital’s focus was on the battle of the box office all-stars — or at least what’s left of them.

“Grown Ups,” a Sony Pictures Entertainment release, stars Mr. Sandler and a small armada of other funnymen, including David Spade, Kevin James, Rob Schneider andChris Rock. The comedy, estimated to cost about $70 million to produce, sold about $41 million in tickets, placing second for the weekend and extending Mr. Sandler’s consistent run in goofball pictures.

Mr. Cruise and Ms. Diaz, co-starring in “Knight and Day,” weren’t as lucky. That $107 million action comedy, released by 20th Century Fox, was third with about $20.5 million. The result appeared to seal Mr. Cruise’s worst summer debut in nearly two decades. (His“Far and Away” opened to $16 million, when adjusting for inflation, in late May of 1992.)

Fox seemed relieved “Knight and Day” did as well as it did.

“We are really happy with this number,” said Chris Aronson, the studio’s senior vice president for domestic distribution. Citing a sales uptick from Friday to Saturday, Mr. Aronson added, “The way the movie is playing is indicative of the great word-of-mouth that we always knew it would have with adult audiences.”

Slamming Mr. Cruise has almost become a cottage industry in the media, particularly online, following his erratic public appearances in recent years. “Knight and Day” will surely add fresh fodder.

But there is a lot of blame to go around. Ms. Diaz, whose live-action track record has been shaky of late, didn’t bring out her usual young audience in great numbers. Fox’s marketing was disjointed at best. Some industry veterans point to an overly developed script, which was put through endless rewrites.

Fox hopes adult moviegoers, who often stay home on opening weekend, will ultimately power “Knight and Day” to a solid total. Overseas markets, where Mr. Cruise remains a formidable draw, will also be crucial; in limited release internationally the picture took in $12.6 million.

The studio opened “Knight and Day” on Wednesday after it became clear that it was in trouble. The picture’s five-day total was about $28 million.

For the weekend Sony’s “Karate Kid” remake was fourth with about $15.4 million for a new total of about $135.6 million. “The A-Team” (Fox) was fifth with $6 million ($62.8 million total).