LOS ANGELES, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Fandango, the nation's largest online, phone and mobile movie ticketing service, announced today that it sold approximately 10 percent of the projected three-day $26.3 million* domestic opening weekend box office for Borat: Cultural Learnings on America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
The Borat opening marks a stunning film debut for the Kazakhstani character from HBO's "Da Ali G Show," with the movie enjoying a smashing $31,511 * per-screen average on only 827 U.S. screens. In the past few days, Fandango surveyed several thousand moviegoers regarding the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy and found that:
-- 80% saw Borat because they were "looking for a good comedy";
-- 83% said they were not offended by the "politically incorrect" humor of
Sacha Baron Cohen's "Borat" character;
-- 43% claim that the Kazakhstan government's complaints about "Borat"
increased their interest in seeing the movie;
-- 59% would be "very interested" in seeing Sacha Baron Cohen's follow-up
movie, Bruno (based on a character from Cohen's HBO series, "Da Ali G
Show");
-- The majority of respondents ranked Sacha Baron Cohen at the top of
their list of favorite comedic film actors (outpacing his former
Talladega Nights rival Will Ferrell; see list below):
Favorite Comedic Actors at the Movies:
1. Sacha Baron Cohen (24%)
2. Will Ferrell (20%)
3. Vince Vaughn (12%)
4. Steve Carell (11%)
5. Ben Stiller (8%)
6. Jack Black (8%)
7. Adam Sandler (8%)
8. Owen Wilson (6%)
"Borat proves that if you build anticipation for a true original, the moviegoers will come," says Fandango Chairman & CEO Chuck Davis. "As of Sunday, Borat ticket sales are still very strong, comprising 66% of our total sales. It's a tremendous kick-off to the holiday movie season, and Fandango's moviegoers are already expressing interest in advance tickets for Casino Royale, Happy Feet, Charlotte's Web and a slew of award-worthy films."
*Box office information from Box Office Mojo and studio estimates
About Fandango
Fandango, the nation's largest movie ticketing service, sells tickets to approximately 15,000 screens and 1,300 theaters. One of the Web's top movie destinations (according to Nielsen//NetRatings), Fandango entertains and informs moviegoers with reviews, commentary and trailers, and offers the ability to quickly select a film, plan where and when to see it, and buy tickets up to 45 days in advance. Fandango is available at http://www.fandango.com/, 1-800-FANDANGO and via your wireless mobile device at mobile.fandango.com.
Fandango theater partners include the nation's leading exhibitors: AMC Theatres, Carmike Cinemas, Century Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Edwards Theatres, Regal Cinemas and United Artists Theatres, as well as American Cinematheque, Brenden Theatres, CineArts Theatres, Cineplex Odeon Cinemas, Cobb Theatres, Colorado Cinemas, Crown Theatres, Flagship Theatres, Galaxy Theatres, Kerasotes Theatres, Majestic Crest Theatre, R/C Theatres, Signature Theatres, Wallace Theaters and Wehrenberg Theatres.
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