The weekend actually saw assumed winner Cowboys & Aliens get Smurfed by The Smurfs in a TIE!! And rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love settles for 5th place...
Pamela McClintock of THR:
In one of the biggest box office upsets in recent memory, Sony’s 3D kids pic The Smurfs tied with DreamWorks/Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens for No. 1 in North America, with each pic estimating a $36.2 million opening. The winner won’t be decided until Monday morning.
Heading into the weekend, Cowboys held a wide lead over the competition in tracking, with Universal predicting a debut close to $45 million. The disappointing launch means the film—directed by Jon Favreau and costing $163 million to produce after rebates—will need especially strong legs.
Smurfs, costing $110 million to make, was only expected to open in the $25 million to $30 million range. The movie’s standout performance is a sizeable victory for Sony Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, which partnered on the CGI/live-action hybrid, as well as for Sony chairman-CEO Michael Lynton, who picked up the project out of turnaround from Paramount.
Steve Carell-Ryan Gosling comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love, the weekend’s other new entry, placed No. 5. The PG-13 comedy opened to a solid $19.3 million, largely on the strength of older females. Slightly more than 70% of the audience was over the age of 25, while 64% were females.
Cowboys, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, played even older, likely explaining why the film underperformed. It also wasn’t helped by a B CinemaScore (Smurfs received an A-; Crazy Stupid Love, a B+). Of those turning out for Cowboys, 75% were over the age of 25—and 39% over the age of 50.
Playing older was always a risk, considering the film is a blend of two genres: Westerns, which skew older, and sci-fi.
Cowboys couldn’t have better pedigree. Stacey Snider and Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks oversaw production and co-financed the $163 million pic with Universal and Ryan Kavanaugh’s Relativity Media. Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment also produced the film.
The film’s financial success will depend upon good legs and a top performance overseas, where it is rolling out slowly.
Smurfs cost $110 million to produce, and is the latest entry in the CGI/live-action market. The pic received an A- CinemaScore, and A among moviegoers under the age of 18.
“This was a unique and fresh concept, and Universal was always committed full-board to the project,” Universal president of domestic distribution Nikki Rocco said.
The movie’s financial risk was spread out, with DreamWorks putting up 50% of the budget, and Universal and Relativity each putting up 25%.
Cowboys hasn’t begun rolling out overseas, where it will need to be a strong performer. Generally speaking, high-concept films can do big business at the international box office.
One reason cited for Smurfs’ surprising strength is the nostalgia factor.
Based on the comic books and wildly popular 1980s television show, Smurfs stars was directed by Raja Gosnell, and star Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays and Hank Azaria. The voice cast is led by Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry and Anton Yelchin.
“There was a of smurf love going lot on. And there’s no doubt a nostalgic pull,” said Sony president of worldwide distribution Rory Bruer.
While the 3D toon received an A- CinemaScore overall, moviegoers under the age of 18 gave it an A. Of those buying tickets, 65% were families, while 35% were general moviegoers. Within the family demo, 40% were parents of kids under the age of 12. The 3D market also was relatively strong for the film, with 45% of the grosses coming from 3D theaters...
John Young of EW
It's a tie! 'Cowboys & Aliens' and 'The Smurfs' both open to $36.2 mil
Next Up: James Franco and Freida Pinto witness Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes; While Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman go out of body in yet another R-rated summer '11 comedy The Change-Up.
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