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'Sex' on top with $26.9 million Friday

Warner Bros., New Line comedy makes history

By ANTHONY D'ALESSANDRO

Sarah Jessica Parker's 'Sex and the City' had the best opening day for a romantic comedy in box office history. ($26.9 million)

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Warner Bros. and New Line's feature adaptation of former HBO TV series "Sex and the City" grossed a whopping $26.9 million Friday from 3,285 theaters on the strength of women, by far the best opening day ever for a romantic comedy and the sort of gross usually reserved for male-driven tentpoles or family fare.

Friday's gross is the third highest ever for an R-rated pic, slotting behind previous Warner Bros. tentpoles such as 2003's "The Matrix Reloaded" ($42.5 million) and 2007's "300" ($28.1 million).

"Sex and the City" overpowered Memorial Day weekend holdover "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull." The Steven Spielberg- helmed pic took second with $12.2 million from 4,264 sites, down 60% from a week ago, and raising its 10-day domestic haul to $183.1 million.

Women, particularly women over 25, and big box office openings aren't usually synonymous. "Sex and the City," rated R and playing in 3,285, is a lusty exception. Throughout this week, women and their friends bought up advance tickets for the film, resulting in sold-out Friday shows in many top markets.

It's been four years since "Sex and the City" ended its run on HBO. Directed and written by Michael Patrick King--an alum of the TV series--feature film reunites the original cast.

Warners took over distribution of "Sex and the City" after Time Warner dismantled New Line as a standalone studio and made it a label within the Warner Bros. fold.

Film received an A CinemaScore from Friday auds.

Elsewhere on Friday, Universal and Rogue Pictures' "The Strangers," starring Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman, grossed an estimated $7.5 million from 2,467 venues to place third for the day after "Sex and the City" and "Crystal Skull." The horror-thriller about the mysterious invasion of a couple's vacation home was produced for an estimated $9 million.

Paramount and Marvel's "Iron Man" placed fourth with $3.7 million off 3,650, down 32%, with a running cume of $266.3 million.

In fifth, Disney and Walden Media's "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" drew $3.4 million at 3,801, down 48% from a week ago, with total B.O. of $106.1 million.