Weekend Estimates: Cowboys and Smurfs in Box Office Tie

July 31, 2011

Universal and Sony showed how compromise is done on Sunday, as each studio settled on an identical weekend estimate, with Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs tied on an estimated $36,206,250. That's a slight disappointment for Cowboys (although certainly up from the worst fears of a few weeks ago) and above expectations for Smurfs, which showed the resilience of kids movies to weak reviews and gave 3D a needed boost.

In fifth place, Crazy, Stupid, Love posted a respectable $19.3 million, basically in line with the debut of Friends with Benefits last week, although Crazy should have slightly better legs, based on its great reviews and older-leaning demographic.

Captain America took a big 60% fall from its opening weekend to $24.9 million and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II was down another 54% to $21.9 million. With the Summer season drawing to a close, however, they should both stick around in theaters for a good while longer.

In limited release, four films had excellent starts, led by The Future with an estimated $28,185 in a single theater. The Guard averaged a shade over $20,000 in four locations; The Devil's Double took about $19,000 in five; and Attack the Block enjoyed an average of $16,250 in eight venues. Given the diminishing returns of extra theaters, those numbers are all about on a par overall, and all four films should enjoy growing rollouts in the next few weeks.

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- Friday Estimates
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- Sunday Projections

Bruce Nash

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, The Smurfs, Cowboys and Aliens, Crazy, Stupid, Love, Friends with Benefits, The Guard, Attack the Block, The Future, The Devil's Double