BOX OFFICE: BORAT opening is nice!

opened impressively this weekend, taking in $26.4 million from only 837 theatres to take the comedy straight to the top of the box office charts. One can only wonder what type of numbers the movie could have done if it was released wider, as it was only shown in around a third of cinema's as the other two new releases. The Santa Clause 3 came in at second, pulling in decent numbers for a premature christmas movie with an estimated $20 million taking. The decision to release the movie before the christmas season may prove to have been a good one with no real direct competition in that market yet. Flushed Away came in at third, taking in an estimated $19.1 million which believe it or not is a stronger opening than Wallace and Gromit did last year. That movie ended up taking in $56.1 million when all was said and done so this opening boads well for the Aardman animation as this type of movie is never as popular in the U.S. as in the U.K. Elsewhere then, Saw III added another $15.5 million to it's takings meaning the horror has now taken in $60.1 million over two weeks, EXACTLY the same gross that Saw II was on in it's second weekend last year. The Departed finally dropped out of second place and it's total has now over taken the $100 million mark. Clint Eastwood'sFlags of our Fathers continues to flop even with more screens added... it has now taken in a disapointing $26,631,000 on a $90 million budget. Estimated top ten for weekend of November 3-5: Title Weekend Gross Budget 1. Borat - $26,375,000 ($26,375,000) ($18,000,000) 2. The Santa Clause 3 - $20,000,000 ($20,000,000) budget undisclosed 3. Flushed Away - $19,100,000 ($19,100,000) budget undisclosed 4. Saw III - $15,500,000 ($60,077,000) ($10,000,000) 5. The Departed - $8,000,000 ($102,282,000) ($90,000,000) 6. The Prestige - $7,784,000 ($39,414,000) ($40,000,000) 7. Flags of our Fathers - $4,500,000 ($26,631,000) $90,000,000 8. Man of the Year - $3,821,000 ($34,004,000) budget undisclosed 9. Open Season - $3,100,000 ($81,386,000) ($85,000,000) 10. The Queen - $3,010,000 ($10,087,000) budget undisclosed OPENING NEXT WEEK Stranger Than Fiction, The Return, A Good Year, Harsh Times, Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (limited), Fuck, Copying Beethoven (limited) source - box office mojo