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.

1. Indiana Jones 4: $145,840,212 ($185 million budget)
2. Narnia: Prince Caspian: $34,613,170 ($200 million budget, second week)
3. Iron Man: $30,457,656 ($186 million budget, fourth week)

Continue reading This week’s box office roundup

Those tears make Aslan look so sad. No need to cry though. As we saw in our ‘Prince Caspian’ box office story, the Disney blockbuster is doing well overseas and will still be very profitable. It might not make $750 million like the first movie, but it will soon have a bigger worldwide gross than its $200 million budget. Disney CEO Robert Iger however, found it necessary to defend Prince Caspian’s box office performance. Maybe because analysts have downgraded their forecasts for Disney’s next financial quarter.

He blamed the release date, which Disney themselves moved from Christmas to spring, for the weak showing in the US. Between ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Indiana Jones 4,’ ‘Prince Caspian’ got lost in the crowded market place. “There’s just too much out there,” Iger said. The question is, will they move the next Narnia back to the Christmas season, which was much more fitting for the movies’ atmosphere, or will they keep the May 7, 2010 release date?