August 1, 2011 13:14

'Cowboys And Aliens' battles 'The Smurfs' for US Box Office Number One

Two films are tied for the top spot

The summer blockbuster, Cowboys and Aliens, has underperformed at the US Box Office to the point that it may not even claim the top spot for the weekend. The Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford western/sci-fi grossed a mere $36.2m (£22m), putting it in joint first place with family film The Smurfs, before the final Monday figures are confirmed.

With a budget of over $160m (£97.3m), a cast that includes the actors behind Indiana Jones and James Bond, the director of Iron Man (Jon Favreau) behind the camera and a producer by the name of Steven Spielberg attached, the fact that Cowboys and Aliens couldn't claim the top spot comfortably means it is likely to be considered a flop.

That isn't to deny the exceptional start for The Smurfs. Despite negative reviews, the little blue men had a smurfing impressive opening, despite Neil Patrick Harris being the only real star of the family film.

Elsewhere in the charts, romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love opened in fifth with a respectable $19.3m (£11.7m). The film stars Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Last week's number one, Captain America: The First Avenger, dropped to third but picked up an extra $24.9m (£15.1m) to push its domestic total near to its budget within two weeks.

The weekend box office also saw Harry Potter and the Deathy Hallows: Part Two become the first Potter film, and ninth film ever, to break the billion dollar mark.

Next week sees the US release of Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes.

For more Box Office statistics and for the word on the final figures for the weekend, visit Box Office Mojo.