LOS ANGELES — "Sex and the City" and its legion of female fans over the weekend gave Hollywood exactly what it needs to survive an uncertain summer movie season: an unconventional hit.
The romantic comedy, based on HBO's long-running television series of the same name, unexpectedly overtook the latest "Indiana Jones" movie at the domestic box office, bringing in an estimated $55.7 million since opening with midnight shows on Thursday, according to Warner Bros., which released the film.
The performance fell short of the $70 million-plus opening some foresaw after sellout crowds — 85 percent of the ticket buyers women, many viewing in groups — brought the film about $26 million in sales Friday.
Still, the weekend opening far exceeded industry expectations, which only a week ago were looking something closer to the $27.5 million taken in by "The Devil Wears Prada," a similarly female-driven hit released by 20th Century Fox in June of 2006.
"It is kind of mind-boggling," Sarah Jessica Parker, the "Sex and the City" star, said in a telephone interview from her Manhattan home Saturday. "We are thrilled and humbled that the audience came out."
"Sex and the City," of course, benefited from the enormous audience awareness that came with the television series' six seasons, strong DVD sales and continuing appearances in syndication on TBS.
There was also no shortage of media attention showered on the return after four years of Carrie, Miranda, Samantha and Charlotte, whether features about their clothes, their men or the show's enduring influence (for good or ill) on the culture.
And yet surprise at the weekend performance was palpable, even among those who made the $65 million film.
Parker, for instance, said she did not intend to sit home monitoring the box-office results. But by late Friday, fans were sending messages and even photographs to her cellphone of women in line outside movie theaters across the country. (As the weekend went on, more men showed up, according to Warner Bros.) A clutch of negative reviews did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm for making a night or day of it at the theater.
See Also
