Box Office: 'Sex' kicks 'Indy' off b.o. throne

By Franck Tabouring

Weekend of May 30 – June 1, 2008

“Sex and the City,” the anticipated big-screen adaptation of the popular HBO series of the same title, topped the North American box office this weekend with $55.7 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

New Line Cinema’s chick flick directed by Michael Patrick King marks the return of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) and her friends four years after the series ended its successful run on TV. The film opened above studio expectations.

Last week’s box office champion “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” failed to resist the charm of the four Manhattan women storming the chart, slipping to second place with a weekend gross of $46 million. The Steven Spielberg-directed adventure starring Harrison Ford as the famous archeologist brought its domestic total to $216.8 million after a strong two-week run.

Debuting at No. 3 with $20.7 million was Rogue Pictures’ horror thriller “The Strangers,” about a couple struggling to survive the invasion of their vacation home by three masked strangers. Directed by Bryan Bertino, the film stars Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman.

Paramount’s action spectacle “Iron Man” tumbled to No. 4 this weekend, collecting $14 million and reaching a total haul of $276.6 million after only five weeks in release. Jon Favreau’s Marvel adaptation stars Robert Downey Jr. as a high-profile weapons manufacturer who becomes a superhero when he builds an armor-plated suit.

Meanwhile, Walt Disney’s family adventure “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” ranked in fifth with $13 million. Andrew Adamson’s sequel to “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” lifted its cumulative gross to $115.6 million, which is about $50 million short of its predecessor’s three-week total of $165 million in 2005.    

At No. 6, 20th Century Fox’s romantic comedy “What Happens in Vegas” took home $6.8 million, brining its domestic total to $66 million after four weeks in release. Directed by Tom Vaughan, the film stars Ashton Kutcher and Cameron Diaz as two strangers forced to love together for six months after accidentally tying the knot in Vegas.

Universal’s comedy “Baby Mama” dropped one spot to No. 6, pulling a weekend gross of $2.2 million and reaching a total of $56.1 million after a six-week run. Following in seventh place was Warner’s “Speed Racer,” which has been performing poorly at the box office ever since its release four weeks ago. The Wachowskis-directed action flick brought its domestic total to $40.5 million after this weekend’s earnings of $2.1 million.

Two films rounded out the top 10: Sony’s romantic comedy “Made of Honor” with $2 million ($42.9 cumulative gross), and Universal’s “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” with a weekend gross of $1 million ($60 million total haul).

Exiting the top 10 this week were Thomas McCarthy’s indie drama “The Visitor” with a domestic total of $5.3 million, and New Line’s stoner comedy “Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay” with a cumulative gross of $36.9 million.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)