Exceeds expectations with an estimated $55.7 million
"Sex and the City," the long-awaited romantic comedy based on the HBO series of the same name, opened in the top spot at the boxoffice in North America with better-than-expected weekend sales of $55.7 million, distributor Warner Bros. Pictures said on Sunday.
Coming to theaters four years after they ended their six-season run on the small screen, Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) and pals unleashed a frenzy among the show's fans, who organized "girls' nights out" to catch up with their heroines' exploits.
Going into the weekend, the Time Warner Inc-owned studio had expected the film to earn $25 million to $35 million for the three-day period.
The picture crushed "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which observers had assumed would whip up a second weekend in first place. Instead, the Paramount Pictures adventure was a distant No. 2 with $46.0 million; it has earned $216.9 million since opening on May 22.
The Rogue Pictures horror film "The Strangers" kicked off at No. 3 with $20.7 million, also surpassing predictions.
Paramount is a unit of Viacom. Rogue is a unit of NBC Universal.
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