Twitter Makes Brüno a 1-Day Wonder

Brüno came out on top at the box office this weekend, but the way he did it didn’t inspire confidence. The shockumentary did spectacular business on Friday, only to plummet on Saturday, Time reports, leading some to wonder if it’s the first victim of the “Twitter effect.” In today’s high-speed communication environment, execs worry that bad word of mouth may not wait until the second weekend to catch up with a movie.

The buzz on Brüno is decidedly mixed. It’s even more offensive than Borat, and has drawn criticism from segments of the gay community. Its CinemaScore rating, which polls how moviegoers feel after seeing a film, was an abysmal C. Comedies are supposed to gain ground over time, but Brüno’s curve looks like that of a gross-out horror flick: Fans fill the seats on Thursday and Friday, and it’s all downhill from there. (More Bruno stories.)