'Sex' continues to drive box office
Comedy scores at home and overseas
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Outside Memorial Day, the Monday gross is the best for any non-holiday film so far this year after "Iron Man's" first Monday, in which it earned $6.9 million.
"Sex and the City's" four-day domestic cume was $62.5 million from 2,385 theaters through Monday, according to Rentrak. Opening weekend haul for the Warner Bros. and New Line pic was $57 million -- the sort of number generally reserved for male-driven event pics or family fare, not romantic comedies.
"Sex and the City" even won the weekend crown over Paramount holdover "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which earned $44.7 million from 4,264 in its second sesh. Boffo domestic cume is $219.2 million.
"Sex and the City" also delivered in its overseas bow with $37.5 million, but "Crystal Skull" won the weekend at the international box office, taking $71.5 million for an international cume of $266 million through Sunday.
Romantic comedies don't always travel so well offshore, although pics including "The Devil Wears Prada" have helped to reverse that trend.
In the U.K., "Sex" took in a hearty $17.3 million from 460 locations in its first five days, according to Rentrak. Released by Entertainment in the U.K., the film went into the weekend with $7.2 million banked after brisk trade on Wednesday and Thursday.
Lousy weather over the weekend helped keep "Sex" biz upbeat as Brits sought indoor entertainment.
As expected, gaggles of girls drove weekend ticket sales, but Brit bookers also report that the pic attracted couples on dates. "Men are being dragged kicking and screaming to see it by their partners and actually finding they enjoy it," said one exhib.
"Crystal Skull" dipped a respectable 55% in its U.K. soph sesh to $10.9 million at 540 for a $54.5 million running cume for Par. Despite the dropoff, the three-day weekend haul for "Skull" still outstripped "Sex," which opened to a boffo $10.1 million.
In Italy, "Crystal Skull" held onto the top spot ahead of "Sex" in a holiday frame that also saw local Cannes prize winners "Gomorrah" and "Il divo" score handsomely.
"Crystal Skull" dropped 30% in its second Italo weekend, which extended into Monday due to Italy's Republic Day, pulling $4.7 million off 669 in the four-day frame for a $13 million running cume for Universal.
"Sex" came in a solid second with $3.8 million from 533 via local distrib 01 Distribuzione.
In Germany, the "Sex and the City" gals did all the whipping as their bigscreen debut kicked "Skull" out of the top spot. Film garnered an impressive $7.5 million and benefited from the TV series' huge popularity in Germany.
"Crystal Skull" held firm in the top spot in France despite the arrival of "Sex." "Skull" slipped a very respectable 39% in its second frame, moving the total to $24.3 million. But the "Sex" entry was not dull. Pic took $6.2 million on 550 in its first five days for Metropolitan.
In Spain -- the only major Euro territory not getting "Sex" over the weekend -- UPI's "Crystal Skull" showed resilience, grossing $6 million in its soph sesh for a running cume of $20.4 million.
