It's Official: Cowboy & Aliens Narrowly Edges Smurfs as Box-Office No. 1

A vexed, infuriated populace stood by helplessly this weekend as one of the ugliest economic stand-offs in American history threatened to destabilize our nation and the global market at large. Finally, however, an accord has been reached, and we can rebuild our shattered system with the knowledge that Cowboys & Aliens indeed knocked off The Smurfs for the top box-office spot. The Daniel Craig/Harrison Ford graphic-novel adaptation emerged triumphant with an official tally of $36.4 million to The Smurfs’ surprising $35.6 million. That doesn’t necessarily make the weekend any sweeter for the gangs at DreamWorks and Universal, which had at least a $50 million domestic opening and long tail through August on their minds. Alas. Also, I am a 35-year-old man writing about movies called Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs. Wake me in September. [via Box Office Mojo]