Variety reports the top movies, in terms of box office take, for the week of 29 July-4 August 2011. They’re small, they’re blue, and they’re back. The new animated The Smurfs opened at the top of the charts, smurfing up $55.2 million. The little blue folk were so strong as to just edge out the space western Cowboys & Aliens, which opened at #2, rounding up $51.6 million. Captain America: The First Avenger slipped from #1 to #3, commanding $38.3 million, for a two-week total of $130.2 million. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II slipped from #2 to #4, conjuring up $34.1 million, for a three-week total of $330.6 million. Rom-com Crazy, Stupid, Love opened at #5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon slipped from #5 to #8, transforming $9.2 million, for a five-week total of $341.2 million. Cars 2 slipped from #7 to #10, revving up $3.8 million, for a six-week total of $183.6 million.
Winnie the Pooh slipped from #8 to #11, finding $3.0 million, for a three-week total of $23.6 million. Kung Fu Panda 2, on 25% more screens than last week, climbed from #25 to #15, kicking up $1.2 million (more than twice as much as last week), for a ten-week total of $162.2 million. X-Men: First Class climbed from #22 to #21, earning $500 thousand, for a nine-week total of $144.9 million. Super 8 fell from #14 to #22, making $500 thousand, for an eight-week total of $125.1 million. After falling out of the top 25 last week, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides returned to the #25 slot, discovering another $350 thousand, for an eleven-week total of $238.6 million.
Falling out of the top 25 this week were:
Green Lantern (last week’s #20) in its seventh week in release (box office total: $114.5 million)
Thor (last week’s #21) in its thirteenth week in release (box office total: $180.7 million)
Rio (last week’s #24) in its sixteenth week in release (box office total: $143.2 million)