As of Friday, 67 percent of more than 2,800 who filled out the survey — a self-selecting group, to be sure — planned to see the film in a group of women. Only 6 percent said they were going with a man, and 16 percent said they were going with one other woman.

Oh, and asked their gender, 94 percent of ticket buyers said they were women.

You only have to look back two years to "The Devil Wears Prada," another female-oriented film heavy on fashion (with the same costume designer) and juicy female characters, to find a movie that scored big despite an overwhelmingly female demographic.

But there's a difference: "Prada" was rated PG-13, whereas "Sex and the City" is rated R, with good reason, as any fan of the often explicit series knows. That will severely limit the teen audience (those under 17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian).

"This movie really will be a paternity test for R-rated female-driven romantic comedies," said analyst Jeff Bock of box office tracker Reel Source. "There haven't been a lot of movies like this." Bock predicts the movie will have a strong opening weekend, then a big drop-off. "There's no getting around that this is a film oriented to women and gay men," he said. "It will be very hard to get past that, especially with a lot of testosterone-driven films out there this summer."

"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" drew families in droves to achieve the second biggest Memorial Day weekend opening ever, with an estimated $151.1 million in the U.S. and Canada from Thursday to Monday (and $160 million overseas.) By contrast, industry projections have "Sex and the City" bringing in from $25 to $40 million in its first three days.

Still, one analyst thinks "Sex and the City" may surprise skeptics.

"A huge female audience can create a blockbuster of a movie if there's enough interest," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of the tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC. "We're seeing that women from 20 to 55 are very interested."

To Dergarabedian, "Sex and the City" could be "a different kind of date movie" — a date among girlfriends: "This should be a major bonding ritual."

But could there be a downside to all the buzz surrounding this heavily marketed film? The current issue of "Time Out New York" features Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte on the cover — but with their mouths taped over.

"No Sex!" the cover reads. "Enough already. We love 'em, but it's just too much."