Universal and Sasha Baron Cohen are counting the coin after Bruno’s impressive $14.2 estimated gross at the box office on Friday.
In comparison, Borat rang up $9.2 million on its opening day but did so on roughly one-third the number of screens. If Bruno holds pace, a $30-$35 million opening weekend is likely and $100 million final tally not out of the question.
The other newcomer, Chris Columbus’ I Love You, Beth Cooper with Hayden Panettiere, registered $2.1 million its opening day. The low total comes as no surprise given the film’s low scores across the board.
Still playing strong is Fox’s Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs who stomped over $100 million on Friday with second-place receipts of $8.4 million. Michael Bay’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen also continues to draw audiences with an additional $7.6 million bringing its rising cumulative domestic total to $322.6 million. Both of those films will be huge Blu-ray and DVD titles this fall.
Check back Sunday for the weekend box office estimates and whether Bruno picked up momentum through Saturday and Sunday or fizzled in the summer heat.
