Slurpy Love Dog

BO Roundup: July 29-31, 'Cowboys & Aliens' and 'The Smurfs' Tie it Up

Well here's something you don't see every weekend, particularly in the blockbuster-filled dog days of summer, when the success or failure of seemingly every release is dictated within forty eight hours of the opening day.  Cowboys & Aliens , the genre mashup with as fine a blockbuster pedigree as has ever been assembled, is currently estimated to finish even with The Smurfs , a revival of a cartoon that hasn't been terribly popular since its heyday in the 80's.   Though the actual figures released on Monday will distinguish a clear, if only minuscule, difference in the box office haul of the two films, current estimates place both at $36.2 million for the weekend, tying for first place.

Cowboys & Aliens comes from a creative team that includes director Jon Favreau , along with executive producers Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer , as well as screenwriters Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof .  As such, the film has been marketed as a big summer event, with a Super Bowl spot and ubiquitous tie-ins at the likes of 7-11, where you can get a Slurpee with a piece of alien hardware attached. 

Despite being based on a comic book, Cowboys & Aliens is not a recognizable property of the same immediately-identifiably nature as, say Captain America, Iron Man, or even The Smurfs .  The advertising bonanza that accompanied the western-sci fi mashup increased awareness of the project while putting stars Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford front and center.  Still, audiences seemed puzzled by the film's concept and how the two disparate genres could possible work together.

So how does a would-be blockbuster end up neck-and-neck with a revival of The Smurfs done very much in the style of Alvin and the Chipmunks and Garfield , particularly since Sony Pictures was projecting a haul of around $18 million?  One explanation is, of course, the inestimable drawing power of Neil Patrick Harris , though that doesn't exactly hold water, numerically speaking.  One big edge for The Smurfs is 3D.  Though it is falling into this summer's groove of averaging only 40% of its draw from 3D showings (as opposed to the hoped-for 60%), that's still an advantage over the 3D-less Cowboys .

A Slurpee and a cell phone: T-Mobile inks deal with 7-Eleven ...

T-Mobile has a new retail partner, and it just so happens to be the home of the Slurpee. The Bellevue wireless carrier today announced that it has begun selling a $30 handset at 7-Eleven stores.

The phones work with T-Mobile’s prepaid plans and services, and come without a long-term contract.

7-Eleven has offered prepaid wireless cards for years, but it has never before sold phones, according to the companies. The T-Mobile handset, the LG GS170, will be available in more than 6,000 7-Eleven stores.

“Industry projections indicate that prepaid service will continue its growth trajectory and is expected to comprise a significant portion of the wireless market within the next several years,” said Amy McCune, vice president of national retail for T-Mobile USA. “We believe 7-Eleven’s customers who seek accessibility and convenience will love this prepaid phone.”

The news comes a week after RadioShack said that it was dumping T-Mobile  at all of its stores in favor of handsets from Verizon. At the time of that announcement, T-Mobile hinted that it was working with new retailers on partnerships.

“We are currently focused on higher-return national retailer opportunities and we expect to announce new channel growth in the coming weeks, which will more than double the number of RadioShack doors currently offering T-Mobile products and services,” the company said.

7-Eleven first offered prepaid wireless cards in 1994. The new prepaid handsets will be offered half-off in August with the purchase of a $50 airtime card at 7-Eleven, the companies said.

Updated at 8:25 a.m. with additional information.

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