America says “Vassup?” to ‘Brüno’ – Box Office Results: July 10-12

Offensive comedy is what America strives on; Sacha Baron Cohen's Brüno came in at #1 this weekend with an estimated $30.4 million. It certainly topped Cohen and director Larry Charles' 2006 surprise hit Borat, which did debut in first place, although with only $26.5 million. Brüno crushed Charles' last mockumentary Religulous with Bill Maher, which opened in tenth place with a wimpy $3.4 million last October. Brüno, despite the restricted rating, still managed to beat all of its competitors opening weekend, similar to The Hangover (see below) which surprisingly debuted in first against Land of the Lost. I Love You, Beth Cooper is Brüno's Land of the Lost.

In second place, shockingly, was Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs. Last weekend, Transformers beat it by just a hair. It grossed an estimated $28.5 million, passing the coveted $100 million mark ($120.6 million domestic as of July 12^th). Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was surpassed by about $4 million by the animated comedy, this weekend raking in $24.2 million for Paramount. Its worldwide total is now up to $672.3, $329.6 million less than The Dark Knight. The big question here is whether or not Michael Bay's action-adventure has a fighting chance to beat Batman.

Behind Revenge of the Fallen was Public Enemies with $14.1 million. In fifth was The Proposal with $10.5 million. And my Hangover watch continues! This weekend it was in sixth place with $9.9 million. I'm guessing that it could've done better, but I'm sure all of The Hangover's audience went to go see Brüno. Its worldwide total is now up to $284 million.

Other movies that opened this weekend:

I Love You, Beth Cooper-the foolish movie that dared to compete with Baron Cohen-debuted in seventh place with a disappointing $5 million.

Here are the weekend results according to studio estimates Sunday-

1. Brüno…$30.4 million
   
2. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs…$28.5 million
   
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen…$24.2 million
   
4. Public Enemies…$14.1 million
   
5. The Proposal…$10.5 million
   
6. The Hangover…$9.9 million
   
7. I Love You, Beth Cooper…$5 million
   
8. Up…$4.7 million
   
9. My Sister's Keeper…$4.2 million
   
10. The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3…$1.6 million