Can 'Sex and the City' be a hit?
New York, April 27, 2008 There are indications that the film, which opens Friday, is
attracting a lot of interest from women of all ages - not just the
age of the four lead actresses, who range from their early 40s to
just over 50.
"We can't remember the last time a movie has created so much
anticipation among female moviegoers from their 20s through their
40s," said Harry Medved, a spokesman for Fandango, the online
movie ticket site.
Medved said many women seem to be planning to go in groups. "We
are getting a surprising number of requests for group ticket sales
from women planning 'Sex and the City' get-togethers," he said.
Fandango, which is the largest online ticketing service but
still represents only a small percentage of total sales, surveyed
buyers who'd just purchased tickets for the film.
As of Friday, 67 percent of more than 2,800 who filled out the
survey - a self-selecting group, to be sure - planned to see the
film in a group of women. Only 6 percent said they were going with
a man, and 16 percent said they were going with one other woman.
Oh, and asked their gender, 94 percent of ticket buyers said
they were women.
You only have to look back two years to "The Devil Wears
Prada," another female-oriented film heavy on fashion (with the
same costume designer) and juicy female characters, to find a movie
that scored big despite an overwhelmingly female demographic.
But there's a difference: "Prada" was rated PG-13, whereas
"Sex and the City" is rated R, with good reason, as any fan of
the series knows. That will severely limit the teen audience (those
under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian).
"This movie really will be a paternity test for R-rated
female-driven romantic comedies," said analyst Jeff Bock of box
office tracker Reel Source. "There haven't been a lot of movies
like this." Bock predicts the movie will have a strong opening
weekend, then a big drop-off. "There's no getting around that this
is a film oriented to women and gay men," he said. "It will be
very hard to get past that, especially with a lot of
testosterone-driven films out there this summer.
Another analyst thinks "Sex and the City" may surprise
skeptics.
"A huge female audience can create a blockbuster of a movie if
there's enough interest," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of
the tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC. "We're seeing that women
from 20 to 55 are very interested."
To Dergarabedian, "Sex and the City" could be "a different
kind of date movie" - a date among girlfriends: "This should be a
major bonding ritual."
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)