Sex In The City - The Movie to Premiere In London

Sex and the City: The Movie will have its world premiere in London - because of the weakness of the US dollar.

The film - based on the hit US TV show about the lives of four New York women - will be shown for the first time in Leicester Square on May 12, more than two weeks before it gets its premiere in the Big Apple.

All four stars - Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Cynthia Nixon and Kristin Davis - will be at the London event, and sources say producers feel London is financially more equipped to cope with it.

Columnist Elizabeth Snead said: "If you had to bet where Sex and the City: The Movie would premiere, you'd probably put money on New York, right?

"That's where the New York Observer columnist Candace Bushnall wrote those spicy columns that the series was based on.

"There are so many fashion merchandising tie-ins with the film that I guess London is seen as vital to the success of the campaign. The American economy and dollar are so weak right now that the studio seems to realise that London was the place to be."

However, the film's makers, New Line, insist the New York event is just as important as the London one.