This 3D live-action/CGI family film will finally release July 29 after having its release date changed three times. While being chased by evil wizard Gargamel, the Smurfs are chased into a portal, which transports them to Central Park. Neil Patrick Harris stars alongside the voices of Katy Perry, Alan Cumming, George Lopez, B.J. Novak, John Oliver and Paul Reubens.
Sony PicturesJon Favreau’s big-budget Cowboys & Aliens ended up in a relatively close race with Sony’s 3D kids pic The Smurfs for the Friday crown, and possibly the weekend.
Observers say Cowboys and Smurfs both looked to gross $13 million to $13.5 million for the day, with Cowboys — from DreamWorks and Universal — falling short of reaching its projected $15 million opening day take.
Cowboys may now gross roughly $38 million for the weekend, less than expected. If Smurfs continues to do overperform, it could come close to the $38 million mark as well.
Coming in No. 3 at the domestic box office on Friday was Paramount and Marvel’s holdover Captain America: The First Avenger, which was on track to gross $7.5 million for the day and roughly $25 million for the weekend.
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The third new film of the weekend, Warner Bros.’ Steve Carell–Ryan Gosling comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love got off to a solid start, likely grossing $6.5 million on Friday and $18 million or $19 million for the weekend.
Cowboys, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, 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.
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But original stories are always a risk, not to mention mixing the Western and sci-fi genres. Westerns generally draw older moviegoers, and Cowboys has indeed been tracking best among males over 25, followed by males under 25, who are Favreau and sci-fi fans.
Cowboys grossed a soft $700,000 in midnight runs Thursday night, suggesting that younger fanboys weren’t rushing to see the film.
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Earlier this summer, Super 8 grossed $13.1 million on its first Friday, along with $1 million in special sneaks the previous Thursday night. Super 8 went on to post an opening weekend gross of $36.5 million.
The big difference between the two movies is their price tags. J.J. Abrams’ Super 8 reportedly cost $55 million to make. DreamWorks financed half of Cowboys’ pricey $163 million budget, while Universal and Relativity Media each put up 25%.
Smurfs cost $110 million to produce.
Bryan Lourd asking if I was interested in baseball,” he told THR. “I said I used to be. He said, ‘If you’re interested in taking a look at this thing, Brad would be interested in talking to you about it.’ “
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