And when have you EVER seen a per-screen disparity like this between the top two films? (FYI Fox reduced the number of screens for BORAT last week since it was not testing well in "Middle America" so to speak -- i.e. the people he makes fun of the most during the film).
1 BORAT: CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
Fox
837 screens $9,050,000 total
-- / $10,812 per screen
2 THE SANTA CLAUSE 3: THE ESCAPE CLAUSE
Buena Vista
3,458 screens $5,200,000 total
-- / $1,504 per screen
3 SAW III
Lionsgate
3,167 $5,200,000
4 FLUSHED AWAY
Paramount (DreamWorks)
3,707 $4,620,000
5 THE PRESTIGE
Buena Vista
2,305 $2,390,000
6 THE DEPARTED
Warner Bros.
2,785 $2,260,000
7 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
Paramount (DreamWorks)
2,375 $1,300,000
Weekend Box Office 11/4: BORAT Is King!
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AndyDursin
- Posts: 34481
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
-
Carlson2005
NAAIIIIIIIICE!
And to think, Fox spent the last two weeks talking down the film's prospects because it had been tracking so disastrously badly in Middle America. It'll certainly expand screens next week, but this is one I can still see playing to empty screens in some towns.
The current weekend estimates - and boy, do Universal suddenly look the smartest guys in town for snapping up Cohen's next movie!
1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - $26.4m
2. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause - $20m
3. Flushed Away - $19.1m
4. Saw III - $15.5m ($60.1m total)
5. The Departed - $8m ($102m)
6. The Prestige - $7.78m ($39.4m)
7. Flags of Our Fathers - $4.5m ($26.6m)
8. Man of the Year - $3.82m ($34m)
9. Open Season - $3.1m ($81.4m)
10. The Queen - $3.01m ($10.1m)
And to think, Fox spent the last two weeks talking down the film's prospects because it had been tracking so disastrously badly in Middle America. It'll certainly expand screens next week, but this is one I can still see playing to empty screens in some towns.
The current weekend estimates - and boy, do Universal suddenly look the smartest guys in town for snapping up Cohen's next movie!
1. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan - $26.4m
2. The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause - $20m
3. Flushed Away - $19.1m
4. Saw III - $15.5m ($60.1m total)
5. The Departed - $8m ($102m)
6. The Prestige - $7.78m ($39.4m)
7. Flags of Our Fathers - $4.5m ($26.6m)
8. Man of the Year - $3.82m ($34m)
9. Open Season - $3.1m ($81.4m)
10. The Queen - $3.01m ($10.1m)
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Monterey Jack
- Posts: 9833
- Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2004 12:14 am
- Location: Walpole, MA
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AndyDursin
- Posts: 34481
- Joined: Tue Oct 05, 2004 8:45 pm
- Location: RI
I saw BORAT this afternoon. This seems to be a case of the studio playing up the hype and "controversy" when it was surprising how much of the humor wasn't really mean spirited. I was expecting 90 minutes of Borat showing how bigoted Americans are, but other than a line or two from a couple of morons (i.e. all the scenes shown in clips) the movie was quite tame and most of the "participants" (actors?) seemed to be good sports. Even his sit in with Born-Again Christians wasn't especially offensive, and I loved his time on a morning news TV show (which seemed to be one of the few legitimately "real" moments).
That said I also didn't think it was all THAT funny. Several sequences were highly amusing but several others went on way too long (like Borat and his producer wrestling naked for what seemed like a third of the movie). The "linking" material between "skits" was crude and cheaply done. The end just kind of petered out with no real punch line.
I felt as if most of the movie was staged. I realize they've said some of it was "real" and other situations involved plants, but very little of it felt overly spontaneous. Even the sequence where he gets booed at the rodeo looked as if it was cut together with re-shot material -- it just did not look "real". I'd be surprised if a lot of it was as "improvised" as they said, especially when you realize it has four credited writers.
Anyway I did enjoy it, but the hype machine really sold this as being some miraculous comedy when it's moderately engaging but very seldom hysterical.
That said I also didn't think it was all THAT funny. Several sequences were highly amusing but several others went on way too long (like Borat and his producer wrestling naked for what seemed like a third of the movie). The "linking" material between "skits" was crude and cheaply done. The end just kind of petered out with no real punch line.
I felt as if most of the movie was staged. I realize they've said some of it was "real" and other situations involved plants, but very little of it felt overly spontaneous. Even the sequence where he gets booed at the rodeo looked as if it was cut together with re-shot material -- it just did not look "real". I'd be surprised if a lot of it was as "improvised" as they said, especially when you realize it has four credited writers.
Anyway I did enjoy it, but the hype machine really sold this as being some miraculous comedy when it's moderately engaging but very seldom hysterical.