Sex and the City fans turned out in force this weekend to witness the movie return of New York's favourite gal pals. The film took a hefty $55.4 million in America, making it the highest opening for a live-action TV to film adaptation ever. International numbers were also good, with $39.2 million total, including an enormous $18.3 million in the UK. If the $65 million film can maintain this momentum then it could be one of the most profitable of the year.
However, it should be noted that the film's US takings dropped by about a third from Friday to Saturday, and by more than that from Saturday to Sunday. Figures are generally expected to grow from Friday to Saturday. In fact, Sex and the City was only number one at the box office on Friday, with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull taking the top spot on Saturday and Sunday. Next weekend will be the big test for Carrie and Co.
Indy passed the second weekend test with flying colours. Despite mixed word of mouth, Indy's fourth adventure dropped a respectable 54%, taking an additional $46 million, which puts it at $216.9 million after two weeks.
The week's other new entry was the low-budget horror movie The Strangers, which opened well with $20 million. The Liv Tyler/Scott Speedman starrer was budgeted at just $9 million.
Iron Man continues to kick shiny metal butt, adding $14 million and, with a current total of $276.6 million, staying easily on course to pass $300 million in the US alone.
For the full box office chart see Box Office Mojo.