Monday Morning Talkback: Let's Hear About The Smurfs and Cowboys & Aliens

Actual weekend box office numbers won’t be released until later today, but regardless of the final results, many of you saw either The Smurfs or Cowboys & Aliens during the last days of July. Or maybe both! As such, there’s plenty to talk about — both onscreen and, more important, off. Topics on the table regarding this neck and neck box office battle: · Was the success of The Smurfs a case of fans embracing the film, or ticket buyer indifference toward Cowboys & Aliens? · Is it fair to consider Cowboys & Aliens a bust when it will likely have a bigger opening weekend than Super 8? · If opening weekends are about the marketing, where did Cowboys & Aliens go wrong? How could DreamWorks have sold the film better? Is this just a case of a lemon being a lemon and audiences knowing better? · Does a lackluster showing for Cowboys & Aliens hurt the career of Jon Favreau? Along those same lines, is Harrison Ford still relevant as a movie star? · Are you outraged that Sony reinvented The Smurfs for a new generation? If so, why? · How do you see both of these films performing in the weeks ahead? Will Cowboys & Aliens even top $100 million when faced with competition from Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Fright Night and Final Destination 5? And so on. You could even discuss the movies themselves — shocking, right? — and how you felt they accomplished their respective goals. The floor is yours, dear Movieline reader; leave your comments below.