Manny The Movie Guy /

It was a nail-biting box-office drama over the weekend. The big question was, would the under-performing "Cowboys & Aliens" outshine the over-performing "The Smurfs" at the box-office?

("Cowboys & Aliens" Movie Review)

Then Sunday morning, it was a draw.

Both Sony Pictures ("The Smurfs") and Universal ("Cowboys & Aliens") each projected that their respective movies would earn $36.2 million, a tie for No. 1. The final results on Monday would decide whether movie audiences favored the western sci-fi over the little blue creatures.

And now this.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Cowboys & Aliens" starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, "appears to have pulled narrowly ahead of dark horse 'The Smurfs' to win the weekend box office race."

"Cowboys" is expected to claim the top spot with $35.7 million to $36 million, while "Smurfs" settled for No. 2 with $35.6 million.

Previous weekend's box-office champ, "Captain America: The First Avenger" slipped to No. 3 with $24.9 million.

RELATED READINGS:

"Captain America: The First Avenger" movie reviews

Watch my fun one-on-one interview with Chris Evans (Steve Rogers/Captain America) right here, with Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter) right here, with Sebastian Stan (Bucky Barnes) right here, and with director Joe Johnston right here

The other new entry to the box-office race was Steve Carell's "Crazy, Stupid, Love" co-starring Ryan Gosling, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, and Emma Stone. The romantic dramedy which earned the Critics' Choice Seal of Approval from the Broadcast Film Critics Association earned a respectable $19.3 million to enter at No. 5.

("Crazy, Stupid,Love" Movie Review)

Meanwhile, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" continued to make box-office history. The final film of the "Harry Potter" franchise now ranks as the highest grossing title ever released overseas by distributor Warner Bros.

("Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" Movie Review)

"Deathly Hallows 2" also has now grossed $1.01 billion worldwide, but "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" is about to enter the $1 billion club very soon. The third "Transformers" movie has generated worldwide total of $983 million over the weekend.

("Transformers: Dark of the Moon" Movie Review)

"Cowboys & Aliens" was expected to open in the $42 million to $45 million range, while "The Smurfs" was projected to debut between $25 million to $30 million. "Cowboys" cost $163 million to produce while "Smurfs" cost $110 million.

Here's the Top 10 Box-Office Movies for weekend of July 29th:

• "Cowboys & Aliens," $36 million
• "The Smurfs," $35.6
• "Captain America: The First Avenger," $24.9 million
• "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," $21.9 million
• "Crazy, Stupid, Love," $19.3 million
• "Friends with Benefits," $9.3 million
• "Horrible Bosses," $7.1 million
• "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," $6 million
• "Zookeeper," $4.2 million
• "Cars 2," $2.3 million