‘Sex’ and ‘Strangers’ surprise

No, even I didn’t see this one coming. Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema are reporting ‘Sex and the City’ grossed $26.9 million yesterday (Friday). I’ve been very optimistic about Sex’ performance, but I never thought it would have a shot at $70 million for the weekend. Meanwhile, ‘Indiana Jones 4′ is doing a little less than expected, just like we saw in our weekly box office roundup. Spielberg’s oldie took in $12.2 million, meaning it would come in at a little over $40 million for the weekend. But when I said ‘Sex and the City’ could beat Indy, I didn’t think it would actually happen.

The other new release, ‘The Strangers,’ surprised as well. The cheap $10 million thriller made an impressive $7.5 million. Universal must have seen the potential hole it could fill between Sex and Indy. The Liv Tyler vehicle has a shot at $25 million for the weekend.

Lastly, the switch has finally happened. ‘Iron Man’ took $3.7 million, while ‘Prince Caspian’ came no further than $3.4 million. Sorry Disney, your $200 million pet is on its way out.

More numbers as they come in.