While some time ago, Fox announced that the US release of 'Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan' would be limited only to 700 theaters or so, a measure imposed by the very nature of the movie, it proved that Sacha Baron Cohen's charm was enough even for the American public.

The move from the studio came at a time when the comedy was enjoying real success overseas, as it was thought that the public in the US needed some time to get accustomed to the concept behind it and to its main character, just as it happened with Baron's previous box-office hit 'Ali G'.

Despite the limited release, 'Borat' grossed $26.4 million (double the most optimistic estimates) since it opened on Friday, thus getting more than comfy at the number one spot in the box-office. And this is only the beginning for the R-rated farcical film, as it will run in a little over 2,000 theaters nationwide come next week, just as it was initially planned.

Unfortunately, the long anticipated 'The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause', whose second part faced absolutely no competition when it premiered, came in at number two, with ticket sales amounting to $20 million. But the producers are not at all put down by the outcome, given that they are aware that they can always count on a certain niche of the public, loyal to the genre. As a matter of fact, early estimates showed that more than 60 per cent of Santa's audience was female and 52 per cent was 25 years of age.

The DreamWorks animation 'Flushed Away' had a strong opening, right on Santa's tail, with ticket sales estimated at $19.1 million and hopes are that it will continue for a long time from now on in the top box-office. Not the same can be said about the sequel 'Saw III', that had to a most spectacular tumble (54 per cent) from the previous weekend, landing at the number four position and grossing $15.5 million.

The rest of the box-office top holds no drastic changes, neither for the good nor for the worse. The Scorsese drama 'The Departed' continues to stay put in the top five movies, cashing $8 million this weekend. 'The Prestige' (Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman) seems to be doing better than its magical predecessor 'The Illusionist', with $7.8 million in ticket sales.

Another drama, 'Flags of Our Fathers' is - on the contrary - on a downward spiral, despite the massive publicity it got prior to its release. It dropped almost 29 per cent, grossing only $4.5 million. The remaining three spots go to movies that are already familiar and that managed to maintain their positions in the top ten: the comedy 'Man of the Year', the Columbia Pictures animation 'Open Season' and the hailed drama 'The Queen', focusing on the aftermath of the death of princess Diana.