Two comedies hit North American multiplexes hoping to steal audiences away from fighting robots and animated mammoths. Looking to become box office prince is Universal's raunchy shockfest Brüno which reunites the Borat team of actor Sacha Baron Cohen and director Larry Charles. The buzzworthy pic stands to kick Transformers out of the number one spot after its two-week reign. Also opening on Friday, although with much less hype, is Fox's high school tale I Love You, Beth Cooper. The overall marketplace will struggle to match up to year-ago numbers.

Bursting into multiplexes demanding to be noticed is Brüno, an equal opportunity offender that will attract a large audience this weekend. The R-rated film brings Cohen's TV character to the big screen two and a half years after his Borat became a cult hit and unlikely blockbuster. Brüno will be a well-needed hit for Universal which is the only major studio with only one number one opener so far this year - April's Fast & Furious. The star-driven films Duplicity and State of Play failed to lure in big crowds in the spring and this summer's Land of the Lost was an expensive misfire.

The release of Brüno is wildly different from Fox's launch strategy for Borat. With Cohen not being a household name at the time, the Kazakh reporter flick went out in a more moderate 837 theaters as the studio built up demand but kept the supply low leading to coast-to-coast sell outs and fans not being able to get in. The trick worked like a charm as Borat beat out Hollywood's big holiday offerings The Santa Clause 3 and Flushed Away, which bowed in over 3,400 locations each, to open in the number one spot with $26.5M and an eye-popping $31,607 average. The studio more than tripled the run the following weekend and spent another frame on top with $28.3M from 2,566 sites on its way to an amazing $128.5M domestic total and sensational $260M global tally.

Now, Brüno is heading into theaters more like a sequel with a built-in audience. Moviegoers know what they are in store for so there is no need for a slow roll out. Since Cohen's humor relies heavily on shock value, the marketing campaign has been bold and pricier with lavish premieres filled with scantily clad performers held in key cities like Sydney, London, Madrid, Amsterdam, and Los Angeles. Usually this type of globe-trotting is reserved only for big-budget action tentpoles.

Judd Apatow has proven that R-rated comedies can open to more than $30M in the summer. The Hangover went higher with $45M last month and last summer's Sex and the City with its legions of fans holds the record for the top opening for an R-rated comedy with $56.8M. Brüno will face more competition than Hangover which also bowed in 512 more theaters so it may gross less in the first weekend but score a better average. The bachelor party flick's success may help the Austrian diva as fans might be hungry for more outrageous envelope-pushing humor. Plus enough time has passed for another one to attack. Riding into 2,757 theaters, Brüno could collect about $40M this weekend.

Sacha Baron Cohen as Bruno

For underage Brüno fans looking for a PG-13 pic to buy tickets for before sneaking into Sacha's auditorium, there is the high school comedy I Love You, Beth Cooper staring Hayden Panettiere of Heroes. The Fox release about a nerdy valedictorian who expresses his feelings for the hottest girl in school who then shows him the night of his life should play exclusively to teen audiences and some young adults. Starpower is weak and the premise is not exciting many ticket buyers. Competition is tough as the target audience has so many other options, even if most are not specifically targeting high schoolers. The promotional push has not been too loud as the studio knows that there is little upside potential here. Terrible reviews won't help the cause for director Chris Columbus who boasts five $150M+ grossers on his résumé, but has done little behind the camera this decade aside from helming the first two Harry Potter installments. Opening in 1,858 locations, I Love You, Beth Cooper may debut to about $6M.

Hayden Panettiere and Jack Carpenter in I Love You Beth Cooper

Last weekend, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs came up a bit short in the Friday-to-Sunday box office derby missing first place by just $630,495. But the 3D toon should hold up better than Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and finish above the robot sequel in this weekend's rankings. The animated film's gross in its first five days was less than its predecessor's first three days, however with solid weekday business thanks to kids being on summer vacation, the new pic narrowed the gap over the opening week.

The 3D adventure banked $80.4M in its first seven days compared to the $81.9M for 2006's Ice Age: The Meltdown over its comparable initial week. With no direct competition from new releases this weekend, Dawn of the Dinosaurs should remain the top choice for family audiences and hold steady in the number two spot. A 45% drop would give the Fox franchise flick about $23M for the weekend and $115M in 12 days.

Shia and Megan still plan to rake in some strong numbers in their third lap with movie fans. Transformers smashed the $300M mark on Tuesday after only 14 days of release making it the second fastest film in history to reach the triple-century mark after only The Dark Knight which needed just ten days last July. A 55% drop may be in store this weekend putting the Autobots actioner at roughly $19M for the frame boosting the 19-day to a stunning $335M. A $375-400M final seems likely.

Universal's John Dillinger drama Public Enemies will see some competition for adults from the studio's own R-rated fashionista flick. Audiences have been somewhat pleased with the Johnny Depp pic so compared to director Michael Mann's last two films - both also star-driven adult dramas with R ratings released in the summer - Enemies should hold up better than Miami Vice (60% second weekend drop) but not as well as Collateral (35%). A 45% decline would lead to a $14M frame and $67M cume after 12 days.

LAST YEAR: In the calm before the Bat-storm, Hellboy II: The Golden Army topped the charts opening at number one with $34.5M for Universal. The action sequel went on to gross $76M domestically and a solid $160M worldwide. Will Smith's Hancock dropped to second with $32.1M in its sophomore session raising its 12-day tally to an impressive $164.1M. Debuting in third was the 3D adventure pic Journey to the Center of the Earth which bowed to $21M on its way to $101.7M in North America and $232M worldwide. Rounding out the top five were WALL•E and Wanted with $18.8M and $12M, respectively.