'Bruno' gets his 15 minutes (and million) on Friday

By Sarah Sluis

Sacha Baron Cohen's comic persona Bruno did big business on Friday, but dipped through the weekend, sparking concerns that Cohen's brand of shock comedy has run its course. After Friday's $14.4 million debut, Bruno dipped 39% on Saturday, taking in just $8.8 million, and another 18% on Sunday ($7.2 million). While it brought in $30.4 million, $4 million more than Borat, it opened in three times as many theatres, making its per-screen average one-third of Borat's. Critics have generally liked the film, giving it a 69% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but that's far short of Borat's 91% rating. Part of the appeal of Baron Cohen's characters has been the guerrilla-style humor. With that element of surprise already played out in Borat, the humor of Bruno grows old more quickly. I enjoyed Bruno, but it was much more evident that the events were staged. While Borat had that "Blair Witch Project" sense of authenticity on its side, Bruno may suffer the same fate as Blair Witch Project 2. Needless to say, Baron Cohen is a talented comedian and there is a chance its second-weekend grosses could show only a slight dip.

I Love You, Beth Cooper, the other new release of the week, opened to $5 million at the #7 spot. With lackluster reviews and little marketing support, it appears this movie will fade fast. While Beth Cooper didn't open big, the other comedies in the top ten held strong, even with a comedy at #1, which might be another sign of Bruno's limited appeal. The Proposal dropped just 18% to bring in $10.5 million, and The Hangover fell 11.9% for a $9.9 million weekend gross.

Opening in just New York and Los Angeles, Humpday made a solid debut of $14,500 per screen. The Hurt Locker, which added 51 locations to up its release to 60, increased 324% from last week and crossed the $1 million mark. Both of these films have received extra attention for having females at the helm of a bromance and a war film, respectively. In an interview with The New York Times, The Hurt Locker director Kathryn Bigelow revealed to the reporter that "after she made The Loveless, a postmodern motorcycle movie in which she stretched narrative to the limit, she started receiving scripts for high school comedies, which she quickly realized was considered a suitable subject for her gender." In the indie world, however, it appears easier for these females to work outside of these genre ghettos, to box-office success.

This Wednesday, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince will open. According to MovieTickets.com, the film has already sold out 350 screenings, including 216 midnight sellouts, making this film one to watch.

'Bruno' promises a gay time at weekend box office

By Sarah Sluis

The most-buzzed release this weekend is Br�no (2,755 theatres), Sacha Baron Cohen's gay Austrian fashionista creation. The plot and the brand of humor differ little from 2006's Borat, and while "pre-premiere buzz sawed on so long the project felt like a reality show in rerun," according to our critic Rex Roberts, I doubt that will deter fans craving another round of Cohen's humor. Br�no takes the comedy further in the NC-17 direction than 2006's Borat, ensuring there's still plenty of shocking moments saved for the big screen. However, this could in fact be why Br�no will ultimately fail to charm as much as Borat. "[Cohen] is a man who clearly delights in making himself the target of opprobrium, humiliation, and even violence," notes Slate critic Dana Stevens. "Borat, for all his backwardness and provincial racism...elicited the audience's sympathy. There was something sweet about

his eagerness to connect, however inappropriately, to everyone he met

on his travels," while "the humor of Br�no is arguably crueler and more misanthropic." Cohen's film is my pick for the #1 release of the weekend. However, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosuars, which has little overlap with the R-rated comedy, along with an additional 1,300 screens in its release, could overtake the Austrian. Br�no, like its predecessor Borat, is less concerned about a record-breaking opening weekend, and more interested in selling out houses this week, then having those viewers spread the news for following weekends.

The small teen romantic comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper will offer a PG-13 alternative to young audiences in 1,858 theatres. The premise sounds endearingly sweet. A high school nerd declares his love for the popular girl (Hayden Panettiere) during his graduation speech. Intrigued, they spend the night after graduation together, running into a series of madcap situations and finding out more about each other. Unfortunately, reviews have been calling the movie unfunny, and more than one noted its inferiority to the considerably more amusing Superbad. Our critic Stephen Farber notes that "most of the scenes are stock teen crises that we've seen many times before: underage kids trying to buy beer, getting into a car wreck, fighting off vicious bullies." Still, most teens haven't spent decades watching these kinds of movies, so perhaps they'll turn out.

Humpday, which will release in NYC and LA today, is the most talked-about specialty film releasing this week. Two straight guys find themselves making a pact to create a porno together, and follow through. FJI's Ethan Alter was more than pleased with the result, noting that "mumblecore comes of age with this smartly written and well-acted, grown-up version of a "bromantic" comedy." Those that have previously steered clear of the mumblecore genre might find a film they can not just tolerate, but enjoy.

On Monday, we'll see just how many viewers Br�no managed to offend, and who ended up turning out for I Love You, Beth Cooper (Br�no sellouts?).