'Cowboys' battles 'Smurfs' at B.O.

'The Smurfs''Cowboys & Aliens'It wound up as a battle of the hybrids for bragging rights at the weekend's domestic B.O. -- and neither Sony, nor Universal are giving way.Both studios are estimating $36.2 million debuts for "The Smurfs" and "Cowboys & Aliens," leaving no room for a clear winner until revised weekend figures are released on Monday.Prior to the weekend, most B.O. pundits expected U's "Cowboys & Aliens" to run away with the B.O. crown with a launch north of $40 million. But a sluggish Friday start for "Cowboys" gave way for Sony's live action-toon hybrid to gain considerable ground in the weekend's B.O. race.In a clearer run, Warner Bros.' PG-13 rated romantic comedy "Crazy Stupid Love" bowed with an estimated $19.3 million. Pic landed in fifth place behind holdovers "Captain America: The First Avenger," with $24.9 million, and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," estimating $21.9 million through Sunday.Paramount's "Captain America" fell 62% in its second frame for a Stateside cume of $116.8 million. Pic's drop-off isn't the best news for "Captain America," since fellow Marvel pic "Thor" fell just 47% in its soph sesh earlier this summer. So far, "Thor" has cumed $180 million domestically.Meanwhile, a 54% third-outing drop for Warner Bros.' "Deathly Hallows: Part 2" -- not great, but OK -- boosted overall Stateside totals to $318.5 million for the final "Potter" pic, beating series originator "Sorcerer's Stone" ($317 million) to become franchise's highest-grossing installment in the U.S."Part 2" has cumed $630 million internationally through Thursday (Warners hasn't yet released the pic's weekend estimates).At the Stateside specialty B.O., Sony Pictures Classics launched Sundance pick-up "The Guard" at four locations for an estimated per-screen average of $20,100. That narrowly beats another Sundance title, "The Devil's Double," from Lionsgate, which averaged $19,000 from five locations. Contact Andrew Stewart at andrew.stewart@variety.com