Sex and the City opened last weekend at the top of the US and Canadian box office, taking over $55 million (£28.3m). Photo courtesy of HBO.

The Sex and the City movie opened last weekend at the top of the US and Canadian box office, taking over $55 million (£28.3m) according to estimated figures.

The romantic comedy, which reunites the glamorous Manolo Blahnik-wearing cast of the hit TV series – Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon, Kim Cattrall and Kristin Davis – had only been expected to make $30m (£15.2m) by movie studio Warner Brothers.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull slipped to second place with takings of $46m (£23m), while horror film The Strangers debuted at three on $20.7m (£10.5m).

Sex and the City’s box office haul is the biggest in US cinema history for an R-rated comedy - far higher than that of films like American Pie 2 and The Wedding Crashers.

The weekend opening also ranked as the strongest ever for a movie carried by a female lead, with overwhelmingly female audiences displaying their immense revenue-generating potential.

The remarkable success of Sex and the City is already sparking talk of a sequel starring Ms. Parker and her sidekicks – following the adventures of Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda.