'Cowboys' and 'Smurfs' in a Draw at US B-O

AUG 1, 2011 - Estimated at US$36.2 million apiece, Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs are stuck in a draw for the weekend top spot, flouting pre-weekend tracking that indicated Cowboys would easily rope in more dollars. Captain America: The First Avenger retreated to third, the final Harry Potter hit another milestone, and Crazy, Stupid, Love rounded out the Top Five in its debut.

Smurfs led on Friday with an estimated US$13.40 million opening versus Cowboys' US$12.99 million, but Cowboys pulled ahead on Saturday, US$13.07 million to US$12.70 million. Cowboys' distributor Universal Pictures projected US$10.14 million on Sunday, while Smurfs' distributor Sony Picture projected US$10.10 million, leading to both movies garnering $36.2 million estimates. For what it's worth, Universal reported its Cowboys estimate before Sony issued its Smurfs estimate, and, even if Smurfs ends up in second, it's likely to gross more in the long run, given the historical patterns of the movies' genres.

Meanwhile, Transformers: Dark of the Moon's two-week head start couldn't hold off Harry Potter's record-breaking pace: Deathly Hallows Part 2 passed US$1 billion worldwide (US plus foreign) on Sunday, while Transformers still has a few days left before it arrives at that coveted milestone.

Here are the Top 5 North American B-O studio estimates for July 29-31, 2011 weekend, in terms of rank, (previous week ranking), Movie name (studio), Weekend takings in USD, (Cumulative gross, USD) and week on chart, courtesy of Boxofficemojo. (US$1=RM3)

1. (-) Cowboys & Aliens (Universal) $36.2 million ($36.2 million) 1

2. (-) The Smurfs (Sony/Columbia) $36.2 million ($36.2 million) 1

3. (1) Captain America: First Avenger (Paramount) $24.9 million ($116.8 million) 2

4. (2) Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows Pt 2 (WB) $21.9 million ($318.5 million) 3

5. (-) Crazy, Stupid, Love (WB) $19.3 million ($19.3 million) 1