Notice: All forms on this website are temporarily down for maintenance. You will not be able to complete a form to request information or a resource. We apologize for any inconvenience and will reactivate the forms as soon as possible.

Movie Monday: Cowboys & Smurfs


cowboys.JPGYou’d think the shootout would’ve been a forgone conclusion.

Cowboys & Aliens had all the star power, all the firepower and some serious buzz. It had James Bond, Indiana Jones and a load of nasty aliens. Who would’ve thought it could’ve been challenged by a bunch of modified cartoon characters just three apples high?

When the dust settled this weekend and the box office tourney was finally called, Cowboys & Aliens came out on top—but just barely. Which proves what Gargamel has known for a long, long time: Don’t mess with The Smurfs.

Cowboys, starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, eked out a narrow victory over The Smurfs, $36.4 million to $35.8 million—giving the film weekend bragging rights, if nothing else. But Universal Studios knows it may have to bite the proverbial bullet on this one: Having spent an estimated $163 million to make the thing, the studio knows that Cowboys will have to fire off a few more good weekends before they’ll make their money back. (At least at the box office.)

Cowboys, as you’d expect for a PG-13 actioner, had some Plugged In problems. “There are, unfortunately, quite a few cow pies and iron-infused boulders scattered about here,” said reviewer Bob Hoose. But while I haven’t seen Cowboys, I figure it had to be better than The Smurfs. Sure, maybe the film was rated PG, but given its potty humor and penchant for suggesting the word smurf is an all-inclusive profanity, I can only assume that in this case, the letters stand for “Positively Gagworthy.” Sony Pictures is threatening to release two more Smurf movies: We can only hope this is an idle threat, meant to strike fear into our souls for some hitherto unforseen purpose.

Captain America: The First Avenger, soldiered on for a third-place finish, pocketing another $25.6 million en route. And Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 magicked its way to another $20 million for fourth place—giving the Potter finale a hefty $318 million for the year. Not too bad for the Boy Who Lived, but he still trails Transformers: Dark of the Moon by a good $20 million for the year’s top blockbuster.