BOX OFFICE REPORT: Sex and the City fever leads to #1 movie
Written by Rick From Chicago on June 1st, 2008 in Box Office Report, Movies. 141 views
Carrie and the gang had all the ladies flocking to theaters this past weekend.
In an unprecedented takeover of the box office by women, Warner Bros. and New Line’s “Sex and the City” grossed an estimated $55.7 million — racking up the best opening ever for an R-rated comedy and beating holdover “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” for the weekend crown.
The film’s unexpected boffo performance mystified Hollywood and shattered the decades-old thinking that females — particularly older ones –can’t fuel the sort of big opening often enjoyed by a male-driven event pic or family movie.
No romantic comedy, of whatever rating, has opened to such numbers, prompting immediate talk of a sequel.
Nor was it a matter of Paramount’s “Crystal Skull” underperforming in its second sesh. The Steven Spielberg-directed tentpole, jumping the $200 million mark over the weekend, is tapping into the lucrative family market.
“Crystal Skull” declined a respectable 54% in its second frame to an estimated $46 million from 4,264 runs; cume is $216.9 million. While “Sex and the City” had an enormous Friday — $26.9 million — “Crystal Skull” beat out the romantic comedy on Saturday and is expected to have done the same on Sunday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
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.
[Credit: Variety / Media By Numbers]
