Was "Bad" Sex Still Good? ~ Latest Hollywood Gossip, News, Rumors, Pictures

May 31, 2010

Was "Bad" Sex Still Good?

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SATC 2, Sex and the City 2 Movie, Sarah Jessica Parker

Craig Blankenhorn/MMIX New Line Productions, Inc.

Eh.

Sex and the City 2 and Jake Gyllenhaal'sMay 28 Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time were the hot new couple at the weekend box office.

Except they weren't. All that hot, that is.

Sex and the City 2 did great for a romantic comedy, especially an R-rated romantic comedy that was called "bad" and any other number of disparaging things by critics. Its estimated $32.1 million Friday-Sunday gross, however, did not look great next to its 2008 predecessor, which took in a phenomenal $57 million in the same three-day span.

Widely predicted to reign over the Memorial Day holiday, the Sarah Jessica Parker-and-friends franchise settled for second place, behind Shrek Forever After.

"With any sequel you want to see an increase in the number of fans," BoxOffice.com editor Phil Contrino said today, "and this obviously didn't happen here…It flatlined."

Since opening Thursday, Sex and the City 2 has grossed $46.3 million overall domestically, the bestsecond-best start for a 2010 romantic comedy. (Box Office Mojo's Brandon Gray has reminded us the all-star Valentine's Day was $20 million-plus bigger.)

And, not to be a nag, but the new movie reportedly cost at least $30 million more than the first one.

As for Prince of Persia—its title, as Box Office Mojo noted, dwarfed in billboards by its release date—it's in third place, with $30.2 million, which is about what was expected (or, OK, maybe worse) considering its buzz, or lack thereof.

But while the early foreign returns on Prince of Persia did not recall Russell Crowe's Robin Hood, which likewise cost $200 million, and likewise opened with only $30 million here, but which redeemed itself with strong overseas grosses, the Gyllenhaal movie did end up managing a $117.7 millionworldwide debut. "Not a bad start," Contrino said.

Elsewhere:

•; With Sex and the City 2 failing to step it up, and Shrek Forever After refusing to fall very far, the green guy's movie was No. 1 today, with $43.3 million. Since its own arguably underwhelming debut last weekend, the final Shrek has grossed $133 million domestically.

• Iron Man 2 ($16 million) neared the $275 million mark overall domestically.

• In case Prince of Persia is wondering, Robin Hood ($10.3 million) is at about $238 million worldwide. (Only about one-third of that haul is from stateside audiences.)

• MacGruber watch: It averaged $580 at each of its 2,546 theaters.

• Johnny Depp's Alice in Wonderland tacked on another $560,000 here to a worldwide total that this past week surpassed $1 billion, making it one of only six films to ever hit that mark.

Here's a rundown of the weekend's top-grossing films, per Friday-Sunday estimates compiled by Exhibitor Relations: