It was a good weekend to be a new release. For the first time in a long time all the new wide releases took the highest ranking spots in the top ten. Sasha Baron Cohen's crude candid comedy run amuck, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, not only took first prize for having the year's longest title, it took top honors at the box office with an impressive $26 million (the Scary Movie fan base strikes again). Tim Allen's third time out as Santa Claus took in $20 million and animated Flushed Away drew in third place right behind that with $19 million.
Borat's success is particularly (sad, yes, but also) amazing since the movie only opened in 830+ theaters, giving it a massive $31,511 per screen. I guess the American people will pay anything to see a Brit pretending to be a Khazak making fun of American stupidity while wandering around the beach in a thong pulled up over his shoulders. Go figure.
Helen Mirren's portrayal of the current Queen of England has been getting positive attention from critics for the last month and finally got some from audiences this weekend as it expanded from 152 screens to 387. With $3 million over the weekend it made the top ten for the first time, earning the second most per screen in the top ten.
Next weekend Russel Crowe will mug for his next Oscar while proving to the world that he can at least act like a nice guy. His new romantic dramedy, A Good Year will go up against Will Ferrel and Emma Thompson's fantasy comedy Stranger Than Fiction and yet another pop-horror film starring (who else) Sarah Michelle Gellar, The Return. Christian Bale and Eva Longoria will try to make their mark with their crime drama Harsh Times, which will only see the inside of 880 theaters.
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