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Last week was Borat‘s week – again. Two weeks in a row turns into two weeks of domination from that crazy Kazhak reporter. This week was also filled with Borat news. Many of his victims have been in the news questioning his tactics, saying they were duped – or in the case of Pam Anderson, admitting that they knew all along. None of this was bad for Borat though, as he scorched another $28 million at the Box Office. And that is where we begin as we take a look at last week’s top 5 (via Box Office Mojo):

1. Borat – $28.2 million
2. The Santa Clause 3 - $16.9 million
3. Flushed Away – $16.6 million
4. Stranger than Fiction – $13.4 million
5. Saw III – $6.9 million

Thoughts – Those “family” flicks put up a decent fight this weekend, but Borat was still triumphant. And even though he missed our target for last week’s Over/Under ($35 million), he was still Great Success. Enough said, let’s do some rankings…

Neil Miller – Over (November: 0-1 All Time: 6-3)
Brian Gibson – Under (November: 1-0 All Time: 6-2)
Chris Beaumont – Over (November: 0-1 All Time: 5-4)
Robert Fure – Over (November: 0-1 All Time: 6-3)
Cole Abaius – Over (November: 0-1 All Time: 2-5-1)
Matt Alexander – Over (November: 0-1 All Time: 4-1)

It looks like we were almost all faked out last week by Borat, or was it just a confusing challenge. The challenge, would Borat clear $35 million? The real question should have been: Will Borat make $35 million this week? Oh well, we will let Brian have his moment. On with a much more clarified question for this week!

This Week’s Over/Under: Will Casino Royale make $25 million on opening weekend?

The Analysis

Here is a tough one – Casino Royale is getting plenty of great press (i.e. a 95% Fresh Rating over at RT.com) and is opening on over 3,400 screens this weekend. The only problem is that there is plenty of competition. Borat is still hanging around, and while he may not make another $29 million, but he will take a good chunk of the market. Another big contender is Happy Feat. As this week’s widest release, Happy Feat is the film that may finally capture the family market this Holiday.

But competition aside, the new Bond may be the best in a long time. There was much speculation around Daniel Craig, but all of that has been absolved by the critical acclaim. Sony has poured money into marketing, and this film is really ready to roll. Look for Bond to go big, but Borat to go home – not!

On to some real predictions and what-not…

My Bid – Casino Royale is good – but not good enough to break Borat‘s stride. I am going to say UNDER, but not by much.

Feel free to post your bid below! And for more in-depth conversation around this and any other film related topic, don’t forget to visit the Film School Rejects Forum.

Also, check out what the Film School Rejects thought of this week’s releases by checking out the reviews below:

- Neil Miller says Borat is “110%, indisputably hilarious.”
- Brian Gibson is unaffected by Flushed Away; Chris Beaumont is a bit more lukewarm.
- Chris Beaumont gets a headache from The Santa Clause 3.
- Brian Gibson finds little substance in Stranger than Fiction.