British funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen's controversial Kazakhstan TV journalist Borat has stunned the U.S. box office by scoring a $26.4 million weekend take to debut at number one. The hilarious film, Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan, was expected to chart high behind Tim Allen's Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause, but it actually fared over $6 million better.

Borat's opening weekend take is more than double the most optimistic forecasts for the film. Movie executives at Twentieth Century Fox scrapped plans to release the R-rated film in 2,000 cinemas after test screenings suggested moviegoers weren't massive fans of the Jew-hating character Borat. Instead the film was released to just 800 screens, resulting in a weekend of sell-outs.

Borat also earned more than $17 million elsewhere after opening simultaneously in 17 countries. Animated movie Flushed Away debuted at number three with $19.1 million, while last week's chart-topper Saw III dropped to number four.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)