AP 5/30 - 6/1/08 BOX OFFICE REPORT

[MichaelDoran]

by DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Sarah Jessica Parker and her gal pals have not lost their sex appeal. The big-screen `` Sex and the City `` - reuniting Parker and TV co-stars Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon - strutted to a $55.7 million opening weekend, far exceeding Hollywood's box office expectations.

That was nearly twice the forecast by distributor Warner Bros., whose head of distribution, Dan Fellman, said he had hoped the movie might deliver a $30 million debut.

``Women power,'' Fellman said. ``It was outstanding this weekend.''

Analysts had figured Paramount's ``Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull'' might stay atop the box office heap, but it slipped to second place with $46 million in its second weekend. ``Indiana Jones'' raised its 11-day domestic total to $216.9 million.

``Sex and the City'' put up numbers never before seen for a movie aimed mainly at women, who do not tend to rush out in huge numbers for opening weekends the way males do.

``Sex and the City,'' released under Warner's New Line Cinema banner, had the best debut ever for an R-rated comedy, topping the $45.1 million opening of ``American Pie 2.''

The movie landed at No. 5 on the all-time list among R-rated films, behind ``The Matrix Reloaded'' ($91.8 million), ``The Passion of the Christ'' ($83.8 million), ``300'' ($70.9 million) and ``Hannibal'' ($58 million).

``This is a blockbuster for women. This was to women what `Indiana Jones' and `Star Wars,' let's say, are to men,'' said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box office tracker Media By Numbers.

The movie picks up four years after the series finale, in which Parker's Carrie Bradshaw and her Manhattan buddies left behind their randy ways to settle into monogamous relationships. In the film, they deal with family and commitment issues while still flaunting their bawdy humor and trendy sense of style.

Hollywood skeptics had doubted the commercial prospects for a movie adaptation of ``Sex and the City,'' which ended its six-year run in 2004. Originally airing on premium cable channel HBO, the show had a loyal but limited fan base and held little appeal for young males, the backbone of the box office.

However, ``Sex and the City'' mania grew as the movie's release approached, with many women organizing girls-night-out parties to see it with friends on opening day Friday.

``That's why Friday was quite a frenzy,'' Fellman said. ``There were women that came in and bought out entire theaters in advance and invited all their friends.''

Women made up 85 percent of the audience on Friday, Fellman said.

The movie pulled in $26.9 million on Friday. On Saturday, however, it took a steep drop with ticket sales dwindling to $17.7 million. Most big films take in more money on Saturday than Friday, so the decline was a sign that the audience for ``Sex and the City'' could dry up quickly.

Still, the film was on its way to becoming a $100 million hit that could spawn more sequels.

The weekend's other new wide release, Universal's fright flick ``The Strangers,'' debuted solidly at No. 3 with $20.7 million. It stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman as a couple terrorized by masked invaders at their vacation home.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, 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.

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On the Net:

http://www.mediabynumbers.com/

___

Universal Pictures, Focus Features and Rogue Pictures are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of General Electric Co.; Sony Pictures, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; DreamWorks, Paramount and Paramount Vantage are divisions of Viacom Inc.; Disney's parent is The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is a division of The Walt Disney Co.; 20th Century Fox, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Fox Atomic are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros., New Line, Warner Independent and Picturehouse are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a consortium of Providence Equity Partners, Texas Pacific Group, Sony Corp., Comcast Corp., DLJ Merchant Banking Partners and Quadrangle Group; Lionsgate is owned by Lionsgate Entertainment Corp.; IFC Films is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.

[xdemon]

Iron Man is showing some surprising legs.

[De Martini]

Originally Posted by xdemon

Iron Man is showing some surprising legs.

True, but I don't think it's "surprising" at all. The movie got great reviews and extremely positive word of mouth, plus it was more of an all-around crowd pleaser than "Indiana Jones", "Speed Racer", and "Narnia".

It should finish its domestic run around $330 mill or so, which makes the film a bonafide blockbuster and unqualified success for Marvel Studios.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally Posted by xdemon

Iron Man is showing some surprising legs.

...while Speed Racer was DOA!

[ejulp]

Originally Posted by De Martini

It should finish its domestic run around $330 mill or so, which makes the film a bonafide blockbuster and unqualified success for Marvel Studios.

i think that's a tad hopeful...its been out for like 31 days (I think), and is at $276,625,000...I really don't see it crossing the 300 mill mark when it only made 14 mill in its fourth week. I'd say it stays right under 300 mill.

I hope it doesn't though, Spidey 3 made like 330 mill, and this movie has been much better reviewed.

I think I'm the only comic geek that hasn't seen Iron Man yet...the movie theatres around here are like 9.50 (and I get paid Michigan wages, so thats a lot to spend on a movie, lol)!

I did go see Speed Racer though, that movie is criminally underrated.

[artiepants]

dude, you should sneak into a matinee or do you have a second-run theatre that's cheaper? it's really worth it, just for RDjr alone.

[ejulp]

Originally Posted by artiepants

dude, you should sneak into a matinee or do you have a second-run theatre that's cheaper? it's really worth it, just for RDjr alone.

There's a 2 dollar theatre here that shows movies usually the next "season"...figure I might try to wait it out till then. I was made a huge fan of RDjr with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and A Scanner Darkly, so I'm pretty bummed I haven't seen it yet.

[Darquehex]

Originally Posted by ejulp

I think I'm the only comic geek that hasn't seen Iron Man yet...the movie theatres around here are like 9.50 (and I get paid Michigan wages, so thats a lot to spend on a movie, lol)!

YOU, guy with the creepy avatar, GO NOW AND SEE IRON MAN. Christ on a gorram crutch you saw Speed Racer and not Iron Man and you admitted to it? Go. Now. Michigan will survive.

[ejulp]

Originally Posted by Darquehex

YOU, guy with the creepy avatar, GO NOW AND SEE IRON MAN. Christ on a gorram crutch you saw Speed Racer and not Iron Man and you admitted to it? Go. Now. Michigan will survive.

lol That avatar is actually my real face

[rodolfo leon]

Originally Posted by Darquehex

YOU, guy with the creepy avatar, GO NOW AND SEE IRON MAN. Christ on a gorram crutch you saw Speed Racer and not Iron Man and you admitted to it? Go. Now. Michigan will survive.

dude, i TOTALLY loved Iron Man (saw it 3 times, never got bored once), but there's absolutely no shame in having watched Speed Racer and not Iron Man in my eyes, particularly because for me Speed Racer was the better movie of the pair by far, and as a genre movie, it also was ferociously faithful to the source material.

and to ejulp, always dug the face pic as avatar (i do the same, yet a bit stylized i guess), dude, you HAVE to go see Iron Man, it's a fun fun ride, and Downey Jr. just nails it again and again in one of his funnest performances to date. oh, and rediscovering Paltrow is worth the 10 bucks alone. reminds me why there was so much buzz around her when she made her debut around 15 years ago.

[grphxkindaguy]

Originally Posted by ejulp

lol That avatar is actually my real face

[CaptainTemerity]

Originally Posted by ejulp

I think I'm the only comic geek that hasn't seen Iron Man yet...the movie theatres around here are like 9.50 (and I get paid Michigan wages, so thats a lot to spend on a movie, lol)!

Where in Michigan? Not that I'm there anymore, but it's always nice to hear about "home."

You really are missing out by having not seen Iron Man, though. I can't compare it to Speed Racer, which I haven't seen (I was never really a fan), but it's probably the top superhero movie I can think of, save for Superman 2. And that's saying a lot, imho.

Granted, it shouldn't be about whether it's the best or not. It's just a damned good movie. Treat yourself (but, hearing about how the job/economy situation is back there, I can understand why you'd be hesitant).

[MrToady12]

As much as I enjoyed seeing Iron Man (saw it twice) I recommend NOT seeing it anymore. Go see "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" instead. It's a friggin' hilarious movie that I only saw before IM because it was a quiet week. It needs your support - the actors, performance all around was excellent, and from what I remember it scored really well on Rotten Tomatoes. We need more films like this, and less like "Sex and the City."

Go see Forgetting Sarah Marshall - you too, creepy avatar guy!!

Cheers

[bottleHeD]

The Matrix Reloaded was "R" rated??

[ejulp]

Originally Posted by CaptainTemerity

Where in Michigan? Not that I'm there anymore, but it's always nice to hear about "home."
It's just a damned good movie. Treat yourself (but, hearing about how the job/economy situation is back there, I can understand why you'd be hesitant).

Right now I'm living like 10 minutes outside of Detroit "proper"...but uh, am looking to get out lol.
Theres lots of fun to be had in lil' dive bars and venues (official and unofficial) in and around the outskirts of downtown Detroit, but the future here doesn't feel all that positive (job wise).