Weekend Estimates: Bruno Dazzles on Debut

July 12, 2009

Sacha Baron Cohen showed he is no one-hit-wonder over the weekend as Bruno topped the box office chart with an impressive $30.4 million, according to Universal's estimate, released on Sunday morning. That's marginally better in total dollars than Borat's $26.5 million debut, although the 2006 release played in only 837 theaters against 2,756 this time around. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs dropped an impressive 31% to an estimated $28.5 million, helped in part by a comparison that includes the July 4 holiday last weekend, which dragged sales down across the board. Fox, however, will be encouraged by the performance, and the family pic continues to do incredibly well internationally.

The studio had a less successful weekend with I Love You, Beth Cooper, which opened with an estimated $5 million in 1,858, and will likely disappear from theaters in short order.

Further down the chart, The Hurt Locker continued its impressive run in limited release, earning an estimated $623,000 in 60 theaters, and Humpday launched with an encouraging $29,000 in 2 theaters for Magnolia.

- Weekend Estimates

Filed under: Weekend Estimates, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Brüno, I Love You, Beth Cooper, The Hurt Locker, Humpday