Weekend of July 10 – 12, 2009

Sacha Baron Cohen’s “Brüno” jumped to the top spot at the North American box with a solid $30.4 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The Larry Charles-directed comedy debuted at 2,756 locations Friday, beating the opening weekend gross of “Borat” by $4 million. In the film, Cohen plays a gay Austrian fashionista heading to Los Angeles to become the world’s greatest star.

Meanwhile, this week’s second wide release, “I Love You, Beth Cooper,” debuted at No. 7 with only $5 million. Directed by Chris Columbus, the comedy stars Hayden Panettiere as a hot high school grad showing a nerd (Paul Rust) the time of his life.

At No. 2, “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” collected another $28.5 million, lifting its domestic total to $120.5 million after a successful two-week run.

Michael Bay’s “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” came in behind the animated family adventure at No. 3, scoring $24.2 million for a cumulative gross of $339.2 million. The sequel raced past the $319 million total gross of its predecessor.

Following in fourth place was Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies,” which picked up $14.1 million for a total haul of $66.5 million after two weeks in release. Johnny Depp stars as American bank robber John Dillinger.

Still going strong this weekend was Anne Fletcher’s romantic comedy “The Proposal,” which took home $10.5 million at No. 5. The Sandra Bullock vehicle brought its domestic total to $113.7 million.

Todd Phillips’ R-rated smash hit “The Hangover” followed in sixth place with a weekend gross of $9.9 million. The comedy’s total haul currently stands at an impressive $222.4 million.

At the bottom of the top 10, Pixar’s “Up” pulled in $4.6 million for a cume of $273.7 million after seven weeks in release. Following in ninth place with $4.1 million was Nick Cassavetes’ “My Sister’s Keeper,” which generated $4.1 million for a total of $35.8 million.

Finally, Tony Scott’s “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3” slipped to No. 10 with a weekend gross of $1.6 million and a cumulative of $61.4 million after a mediocre five-week run.

Source: Box Office Mojo (www.boxofficemojo.com)