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By Scott Bowles, USA TODAY When it comes to movies, no united plunks down more cash than women.
Yet few films, particularly in the crucial summer season, are geared for them — or even receive them in lead roles.
REVIEW: ‘Sex’ is as familiar as favorite shoe
That’s about to change when Sex and the City opens amid a lunacy of promotion and sharp disagreement over how the movie will fare at theaters.
Some see the adaptation of the popular HBO series as a test of women’s box-office clout in summer, and Sex and the City is the first of several female-anchored movies headed to the screen.
•Kit Kittredge: American Girl (June 20), the first big-screen tale based on the popular dolls.
•Mamma Mia! (July 18), the musical starring Meryl Streep about a bride-to-be who searches for her real father.
•The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (Aug. 8), which continues the journey of four young women into adulthood.
•The Accidental Husband (Aug. 22), a comedy with Uma Thurman as a radio talk-show adviser.
•The House Bunny (Aug. 22), with Playmate Anna Faris giving tips on everything from makeup to men to sorority girls.
Analysts say that the success of 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada, which grossed $125 million, sent a message to studios that men aren’t that cannot be spared for a hit.
“You’d like a movie for everyone,” says Bert Livingston of 20th Century Fox, which released Prada. “But you don’t have to hit every (demographic) to be prosperous.”
And the ad campaign for Sex, which touts fashion and of females bonding, makes no bones about its audience, says Steve Mason, head analyst for the box-office position FantasyMoguls.com. “in that place’s a lot of estrogen this summer,” he says. “This could open a sort of doors if it’s big, which I think it will be.”
Others are less convinced. “I’d be surprised if it opens to more than $25 million or does more than $100 million” overall, says Jeff Bock of Exhibitor Relations. “For one thing, it’s rated R, so you rule out teen girls and repeat viewings.”
Livingston, whose studio has a amazement hit with What Happens in Vegas, says naysayers are underestimating female audiences. “through gas and everything besides so expensive, movies are about the cheapest date you can go on,” he says. “And who do you think makes the decision on what they’re going to see? It usually isn’t the guys.”
To description corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication serious thought in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. 
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