U.S Box Office Report - 29th - 31st July 2011

1. The Smurfs - $36.2M - $36.2M
1. Cowboys & Aliens - $36.2M - $36.2M
3. Captain America: The First Avenger - $24.9M - $116.8M
4. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II - $21.9M - $318.5M
5. Crazy, Stupid, Love. - $19.2M - $19.2M
6. Friends With Benefits - $9.3M - $38.2M
7. Horrible Bosses - $7.1M - $96.2M
8. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $5.9M - $337.8M
9. Zookeeper - $4.2M - $68.7M
10. Cars 2 - $2.3M - $182M

[In a near unprecedented case of events, both Sony and Universal issued the exact same figure for their new releases, Cowboys & Aliens and The Smurfs. The actual winner will now be decided Monday evening when the 'actuals' are issued. Apologies if this report seems more a mess than usual, it's gone through a vast number of re-writes.]

And so we come to the end of July and the studios are once again playing mix and match, offering three new films and hoping there'll be something for everyone. We've got the second frame for Captain America, which toppled the mighty Harry Potter last frame, and you can bet the boy wizard will be hoping to make up that lost ground this weekend. But the best laid plans....

U.S Box Office Report - 22nd - 24th July 2011

1. Captain America: The First Avenger - $65.8M - $65.8M
2. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - $48.1M - $274.2M
3. Friends With Benefits - $18.5M - $18.5M
4. Horrible Bosses - $11.7M - $82.4M
5. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $12M - $325.8M
6. The Zookeeper - $8.7M - $59.2M
7. Cars 2 - $5.7M - $176.4M
8. Winnie the Pooh - $5.1M - $17.5M
9. Bad Teacher - $2.6M - $94.3M
10. Midnight in Paris - $1.8M - $44.8M

Captain America was created by Joe Simon and Jack Kirby and debuted in his own comic in 1941. It centred on Steve Rogers, a weak young man who finds himself turned into a near perfect human specimen thanks to a serum developed by the US to aid their war efforts. Published by Timely Comics (who would one day become Marvel), the character proved popular during wartime, battling the axis of evil. However, the character's popularity waned post war and apart from the occasional appearance, he remained largely forgotten. It would be 1963 before Captain America returned, in a story alongside The Human Torch - though it would ultimately be revealed that this Captain was a fake and the strip was an experiment to see if fans wanted the character to return. He did return in issue #4 of The Avengers, with his absence explained by having him being frozen in ice since the end of World War 2. Captain America would go on to lead the Avengers and remains popular, as part of that team or in his own side stories, to this day.

U.S Box Office Report - 15th - 17th July 2011

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - $168.5M - $168.5M
2. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $21.2M - $302.8M
3. Horrible Bosses - $17.6M - $60M
4. The Zookeeper - $12.3M - $42.4M
5. Cars 2 - $8.3M - $165.3M
6. Winnie the Pooh - $8M - $8M
7. Bad Teacher - $5.2M - $88.5M
8. Larry Crowne - $2.5M - $31.6M
9. Super 8 - $1.9M - $122.2M
10. Midnight in Paris - $1.8M - $41.7M

NOTE: This box office report is an expanded version from the norm. Should you wish to skip the history of the Harry Potter franchise at the box office, scroll down to the '=======' for the start of the normal report.

So after seven films in ten years, the Harry Potter series comes to a close with the eighth film, The Deathly Hallows Pt 2. It was 1997 when the first book, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone (Sorcerer's Stone in the U.S) was published. Written by J K Rowling, the series would go on to sell in excess of 450 million books and spawn a whole host of accompanying merchandising, including a theme park.

U.S Box Office Report - 8th - 10th July 2011

1. Transformers: Dark of the Moon - $47.0M - $261M
2. Horrible Bosses - $28.1M - $28.1M
3. Zookeeper - $21M - $21M
4. Cars 2 - $15.2M - $148.8M
5. Bad Teacher - $9M - $78.8M
6. Larry Crowne - $6.2M - $26.5M
7. Super 8 - $4.8M - $118M
8. Monte Carlo - $3.8M - $16.1M
9. Green Lantern -$3.1M - $109.7M
10. Mr. Popper's Penguins - $2.8M - $57.7M

If there's an eye of the storm in relation to summer box office, we're in it. We had Dark of the Moon's record breaking opening last frame and next weekend brings the final part of the entire Harry Potter series. With all and sundry due to be crushed by the boy wizard, the studios opted for somewhat low key releases this frame.

U.S Box Office Report - 1st - 3rd July 2011

1.     Transformers: Dark of the Moon -    $97.4M - $162.1M
2.     Cars 2 -    $25.1M- $116M
3.     Bad Teacher -    $14.1M - $59.5M
4.     Larry Crowne -    $13M - $13M
5.     Monte Carlo -    $7.6M - $7.6M
6.     Super 8 -    $7.5M - $108M
7.     Green Lantern -    $6.2M - $101.9M
8.     Mr. Popper's Penguins -    $5.1M - $50.1M
9.     Bridesmaids -    $3.5M - $152.8M
10.    Midnight in Paris -    $3.4M - $33.6M

Outside of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the July 4th weekend is North America's biggest holiday. With a number of people taking Thursday, Friday and Monday off (The actual holiday falls on a Monday this year), there's plenty of opportunity for a cinema visit. The holiday is generally witness to some of the biggest films of the summer, and in some cases, the year. Previous July 4th releases include Dead Man's Chest, Twilight Saga: Eclipse, both Men in Black films, not to mention the two previous Transformer flicks. This weekend is again witness to the return of the Transformers, along with some alternate programming in the guise of Larry Crowne, starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts.