Ha, ha, ha… Indy can suck it
Photo: New Line Cinema

Okay, forget everything I said earlier about Sex and the City being front loaded. The estimate for Friday has grown from an early $20 million estimate to a more accurate $28.25 million with expectations growing to $70 million for the three-day weekend. At this rate New Line/Warner Bros. would be stupid not to greenlight a sequel now as a $70 million three-day gives the chick flick $5 million over its $65 million budget right out of the gate.

Steve Mason at Fantasy Moguls calls the result a "shocker" and while our very own Box-Office Oracle predicted Sex and the City would beat Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull for the top spot this weekend not even he predicted $70 million. Come to think of it, he may be one of the only prognosticators to even pick Carrie and friends to win the weekend.

Looking at Box-Office Mojo's index of Romantic Comedies, a $70 million opening weekend for Sex and the City instantly puts the film at $40 all-time in the rom-com category and I can't find a single opening on that list that compares to $70 million. As a matter of fact the $28.25 million Friday beats the opening three-days for 14 of the top 25 romantic comedies of all-time. However, the girls have a steep ladder to climb should they want to take the top spot on the romantic comedy list seeing how My Big Fat Greek Wedding holds that title with a whopping $241 million (that number still shocks me).

On top of the Sex surprise there is also another shocker as The Strangers took home $6.8 million on Friday. Yeah, compared to Sex's $28.5 that may seem like nothing, but that is a nice number for the disappointing slasher on its way to an estimated $18.7 million weekend.

There were no other surprises at the box, but Mason projecting a $318M cume for Harrison Ford's first Indy film in 19 years, and then saying "that should provide more than enough incentive to continue the franchise with Shia LeBeouf," is actually a shocker. I don't see that happening, but as much as I think it would cause a stir in the fanboy world I do think it would bring in huge numbers at the box-office… at least on opening weekend.

Here's the rest of the Friday estimates. Check back on Sunday when we will have final weekend numbers for yah.

1. Sex and The City (Warner Bros) – $28.25 million
2. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (Paramount) – $14.15 million
3. The Strangers (Rogue Releasing) – $6.8 million
4. Iron Man (Paramount) – $3.55 million
5. Narnia: Prince Caspian (Disney) – $3.3 million
6. What Happens in Vegas (Fox) – $1.99 million
7. Made of Honor (Sony) – $750,000
8. Speed Racer (Warner Bros) – $710,000
9. Baby Mama (Universal) – $620,000
10. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Universal) – $285,000

Related post categories: Box-Office News, Movie News : Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Sex and the City: The Movie, The Strangers

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