Heading into the weekend, a big-budgeted sci-fi western from Hollywood's biggest players was tracking to handily beat a film adaptation of an '80s cartoon. As it turns out, The Smurfs [SMURF] outperformed expectations to tie Cowboys & Aliens [CBALN] for first place with $36.2 million as estimated by the studios. The tiny blue animated characters were popular with families which comprised 65% of its audience, which should help ensurea long stay at the box office. Meanwhile, Cowboys & Aliens drew an audience that was 75% over the age of 25. The film may suffer from short legs due to mixed word mouth.
Last weekend's top film, Captain America: The First Avenger [CAPAM] fell 62% to $24.9 million. The Marvel superhero stands at $116.8 million.
In fourth place, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 [HPOT8] grossed $21.9 million to advanced its total to $318.5 million.
Crazy, Stupid, Love [CSLOV] debuted fifth overall with $19.3 million. The relationship comedy skewed older with 71% of the moviegoers over the age of 25.
| Rank | TITLE | F-S-S | TOTAL |
| 1 | THE SMURFS | $36,200,000 | $36,200,000 |
| 1 | COWBOYS & ALIENS | $36,200,000 | $36,200,000 |
| 3 | CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER | $24,905,000 | $116,772,000 |
| 4 | HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PT. 2 | $21,925,000 | $318,460,000 |
| 5 | CRAZY, STUPID, LOVE | $19,300,000 | $19,300,000 |
| 6 | FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS | $9,300,000 | $38,200,000 |
| 7 | HORRIBLE BOSSES | $7,100,000 | $96,202,000 |
| 8 | TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON | $5,970,000 | $337,892,000 |
| 9 | ZOOKEEPER | $4,200,000 | $68,700,000 |
| 10 | CARS 2 | $2,301,000 | $182,070,000 |
| 11 | WINNIE THE POOH | $1,751,000 | $22,409,000 |
| 12 | MIDNIGHT IN PARIS | $1,219,758 | $46,914,777 |
Source: Exhibitor Relations Co.
Tag(s): SMURF, CBALN, CAPAM, HPOT8, CSLOV