'Sex' Sequel Imminent, But Maybe Not Copycats

Even before Sex and the City proved a hit of modest blockbuster proportions, women, such as our own Kim Voynar, were asking whether the film's popularity could lead to more female-targeted fare from Hollywood. Not necessarily "chick flicks," which we already see every now and then in the form of stale romantic comedies (like Made of Honor) and other small movies involving a female protagonist -- but big, smart, well-funded movies that appeal primarily to the ladies. You know, as in the female equivalent to comic book and action movies like Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (yes, I know many women were fans of both these "guy" flicks). Well, according to a piece in Variety asking the same question, women can at least look forward to Sex and the City 2. That's good enough, right?

Apparently New Line is already at work on the Sex sequel, but studio execs are predictably responding to the success of Carrie and Co. as a fluke. Warner Bros. head Alan Horn, who jokingly told Variety that the sequel will be titled Sex in the Suburbs, said last weekend's Sex opening was "unusually big" and claims similar projects wouldn't do as well. In a way, he's right, pointing to the fact that Sex had a built-in audience, being based on a hit TV series. Meanwhile, Universal's Donna Langley, also acknowledging that Sex is "outside the norm," at least says it's something to aspire to. Her studio also has a female-targeted movie coming out this summer: Mamma Mia!. But again, that, as well as this summer's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, has a built-in audience.

So, we probably can't expect to see too many more films for women than usual, though Variety notes that there may be some copycats on the way (The Women, though made separate from the Sex hype, is now being marketed as if identical). Unfortunately, they'll likely be cheap exploiters of Sex's success, will disappoint audiences and will give Hollywood further reason to claim films for females don't work.