if the file is an image every time... you can use getimagesize >>
http://us2.php.net/getimagesize
Code:
Example #3 getimagesize (URL)
<?php
$size = getimagesize("http://www.example.com/gifs/logo.gif");
// if the file name has space in it, encode it properly
$size = getimagesize("http://www.example.com/gifs/lo%20go.gif");
?>