Borat had a lot going against him for his feature-length film debut.
For one, critics were unsure that mainstream America even knew who he was. And in an increasingly patriotic country, a movie that was sure to offend Americans was not predicted to do well at the box office.
But it did.
"Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan," grabbed the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, raking in $26.4 million.
It's a good thing people turned out in such high numbers to see the movie for Borat's sake, as he explains in the film's trailer:
"Please see my movie. If it is not success, I will be execute."
The movie follows Borat Sagdiyev, a TV personality from Kazakhstan, as he sets out on a journey to America to film a documentary for his country.
While in New York, Borat quickly becomes infatuated with Baywatch beauty Pamela Anderson, and he convinces his overweight producer, Azamat Bagatov, to travel to California so they can get an even better view of "the greatest country in the world," as Borat calls it.
Borat offends people at every stop he makes, and although much of the film's events are scripted, what takes place in each scene is usually adlibbed.
As Borat sets out to interview several different groups of people for his documentary, from participants at a rodeo to a Southern dinner party, and the differences in his cultural way of thinking infuriates some of them, and in one scene, he even has the cops called on him.
Borat's interview with a feminist group in New York is cut short after he begins asking questions about the small size of a woman's brain ("same size as squirrel").
The immense cultural differences prove even clearer when Borat takes a driving lesson.
As Borat wants to follow a woman to "make sexy" with her, the driving instructor informs Borat, "In America, a woman can choose who she has sex with," to which Borat responds in amazement, "WHAAAT?"
The box office success of the film could be due in part to the swelling controversy the film caused before its release.
Mounting to a near-international incident, President Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan went so far as to visit President Bush to discuss the film's negative portrayal of his country.
Sacha Baron Cohen, the comic genius who originally presented the Borat character on his critically-acclaimed "Da Ali G Show," didn't miss a beat in using these political talks to gain even more momentum for his upcoming film.
Cohen held a press conference as Borat and said that he had no connection with funnyman Cohen and that he supported his government in their efforts "to sue this Jew."
Borat then held a press screening of the film in Washington, D.C., and made sure to invite "Premier George Walter Bush" to the screening but he was turned away from the White House gates by the Secret Service.
Surprisingly, Premier Bush didn't attend the screening.
