SEX AND THE CITY - SEX MORE IN VOGUE THAN CRYSTAL SKULL

When Friday's box-office results for Sex and the City came in on Saturday, Hollywood gurus were stunned. The movie had earned just about as much as Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull had earned the previous Friday, just under $30 million. While advance word was that the movie would do especially well on Friday as groups of women got together for the premiere, no one had predicted that it would do that well. But Warner Bros. distribution chief Dan Fellman told the Associated Press, "There were women that came in and bought out entire theaters in advance and invited all their friends." Co-star Sarah Jessica Parker told the New York Times, "It is kind of mind-boggling." (Eighty-five percent of the audience Friday night was female.) And in fact the movie took in only half its Friday gross on Saturday and again on Sunday, winding up with $55.7 million -- just about what it reportedly cost to produce. And yes, it became the top moneymaker at the box office for the weekend, pushing Indy into second place with $46 million -- also something that no one had predicted. Also opening solidly was the horror flick The Strangers, with about $20.7 million, to place third. Some experts are predicting that Crystal Skull will return to the top spot next week and remain there for a while, pointing out that the potential audience for that film is far greater than that for Sex and the City -- especially as kids begin pouring out of school for summer vacation.

The top ten films for the weekend, according to studio estimates compiled by Media by Numbers:
1. Sex and the City, $55.7 million; 2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, $46 million; 3. The Strangers, $20.7 million; 4. Iron Man, $14 million; 5. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, $13 million; 6. What Happens in Vegas, $6.9 million; 7. Baby Mama, $2.2 million; 8. Speed Racer, $2.1 million; 9. Made of Honor, $2 million; 10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall, $1 million.

02/06/2008