Monday, 2 June 2008

SATC success surprises Sarah Jessica Parker

Stunned star says $55.7million box office taking was 'unexpected'

Sarah Jessica Parker is surprised by Sex And The City's box office success

The record-breaking $55.7 million earned by Sex and the City on its opening weekend – the most ever made by an R-rated comedy – not only stunned industry observers but has also taken its star and producer Sarah Jessica Parker by surprise.

"To be No. 1 is unexpected," Parker, 43, told PEOPLE at Sunday night's MTV Movie Awards. "Beyond that, it would be greedy for us to think about, talk about" how much it might make.

The weekend's second-place movie, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, has so far taken in $216.9 million. This weekend, it trailed Sex with a still impressive $46 million at the box office, according to industry estimates.

As for fans’ reactions to her movie, which comes four years after the adored HBO series finished a run that began in 1998, Parker says she is pleased. "They had to have barricades in New York for the audiences," she notes. "People have been really enthusiastic, people have been really nice."

By Charlotte Triggs and Nick White