'Bruno' opens at #1

July 11, 6:55 PMInternational LGBT Issues ExaminerKelvin Lynch

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           "Bruno" is laughing all the way to the bank

"Bruno" topped the box office Friday with a $14.2 million opening day, easily putting it on track to earn an expected $30 million during its first weekend.

Sacha Baron Cohen's offensive gay Austrian got his wish and became "uber-famous" overnight, despite (maybe because of) his ability to anger both gays and Austrians with beyond over-the-top satire.

Universal made an enormous marketing push for "Bruno", having its star show up in outlandish costumes in every country where the movie opened.  "Bruno" famously gave Conan O'Brian a half-naked lap dance on "The Tonight Show", and jumped Matt Lauer's bones on the "Today" show (although the live interview cut to commercial before it was shown on TV).

The movie has gotten mixed reviews, ranging from "brilliant" to "stupid and not funny" from some of the world's top film critics.  The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), a US gay rights group, condemned the movie and was reportedly successful in getting some scenes cut. 

Audiences are calling the movie "hysterical" and "insane".  But some are saying it is not as funny as its predecessor, 2006's "Borat".

To be fair, "Bruno" didn't have much competition this weekend.  The only other new wide-release movie opening was "I Love You Beth Cooper", starring Hayden Panettiere, which earned a paltry $2.1 million on Friday.

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