U.K. box office: ‘Bruno’ is huge

A quick look at last weekend in the U.K. as we head into the new one:

1. Bruno: £5 million (NEW)
2. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs: £4.8 million (2nd week; drops 38%)
3. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: £1.4 million (4th week; drops 35%)
4. The Hangover: £1.2 million
5. Public Enemies: £1 million (2nd week; drops 53%)

(actual numbers, not estimates)
Sacha Baron Cohen had a much better weekend at home than he did in the U.S. and Canada with Bruno: on a relative basis, this £5 million figure should have indicated an opening in North America of around $50 million — instead it was just under $31 million. Ice Age 3 is earning far more in the U.K., too: it was only just under $28 million last weekend, which might have predicted a U.K. take of about £2.8 million.

Just as in North America, however, overall business is down: this weekend was off 12 percent over the same time last year. I wonder if Bruno would have done even better in the fall — maybe it’s just not a summer movie…

[numbers via UK Film Council]