Women voted at the movie box office this weekend and Sex and the City was the winner, generating an impressive $55.7 million. The film, based on the popular television series of the same name, trumped the latest Indiana Jones movie at the domestic box office this week ending June 1st, online sources reported today.
“Sex and the City’s” weekend opening also ranked as the strongest ever for a movie carried by a female lead. “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” was the previous record-holder, with $47.7 million in ticket sales during its 2001 opening.
Some 85 percent of the ticket buyers were women, bringing the film about $26 million in sales on Friday alone. Previously Meryl Streep’s “The Devil Wears Prada” took in $27.5 million on its 2006 opening weekend.
The HBO series “Sex and the City” has developed a cult audience among women, and it has become a bonding experience for mothers and daughters as well as girlfriends nationwide. “It’s a cultural phenomenon; it’s an absolutely incredible opening,” Dan Fellman, Warner’s president for theatrical distribution, told the New York Times.
As “Sex and the City” placed No. 1 for the weekend, Paramount’s “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” dropped to second. The film, directed by Steven Spielberg, generated $46 million in ticket sales, bringing its total to $216 million since opening on May 22.
Third place went to “The Strangers,” a horror film made for about $9 million, which took in $20.7 million, while “Iron Man” stayed strong in fourth place with $14 million. “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” trailed in fifth place with ticket sales of about $13 million.
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Box Office Grosses
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| Rank | Title | Weekend | Total Gross |
| 1 | Sex and the City (2008) | $55.7M | $55.7M |
| 2 | Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) | $46M | $217M |
| 3 | The Strangers (2008) | $20.7M | $20.7M |
| 4 | Iron Man (2008) | $14M | $277M |
| 5 | The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) | $13M | $116M |
| 6 | What Happens in Vegas… (2008) | $6.85M | $66.1M |
| 7 | Baby Mama (2008) | $2.22M | $56.1M |
| 8 | Speed Racer (2008) | $2.14M | $40.6M |
| 9 | Made of Honor (2008) | $2M | $43M |
| 10 | Forgetting Sarah Marshall (2008) | $1.04M | $60.5M |
