Sex And The City has failed to match the appeal of the return of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones for UK cinema goers.

The television series spin off about the loves and lives of four New York women took almost £9 million at UK box offices over its opening weekend while the latest Indiana Jones adventure took £12.2 million in the first three days of its release, according to figures out this week.

Both films earned more at UK box offices than Iron Man, the film starring Robert Downey Jr and Gwyneth Paltrow, which took more than £5 million.

Sex and the City's takings - £8,767,265 - includes previews. Advance ticket sales for the film were 160,000 across the UK and many cinemas laid on extra screenings. Despite mixed reviews from the critics, fans have been enthusiastic about the £30 million movie, based on the television series which ran from 1998 to 2004.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, marked the return of the Indiana Jones franchise after nearly two decades. Harrison Ford, 65, who makes a few self-effacing remarks about his age in the film, stars as the adventurer first introduced to audiences in the 1981 blockbuster, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The much-hyped Steven Spielberg film recouped more than half its entire production budget in the first weekend of United States release after grossing $101 million.

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