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Dictation is a thing of the past anyway.

Kim Hollis: The Dictator, Sacha Baron Cohen's attempt at forgiveness after Bruno, opened to $17.4 million from Friday-to-Sunday and has taken in $24.5 million since its Wednesday opening. What do you think of this result?

Tim Briody: This is actually pretty good considering how poorly Bruno was received. That made $60 million, $30 million of which came in opening weekend, so taking in $24.5 million in just five days indicates a fair amount of forgiveness and how effective and funny the advertising was.

Matthew Huntley: It's a fair opening, but not enough to be considered a success. The movie still carries a price tag of $65 million, not including P&A costs, so it'll be awhile before it shows a profit. I don't think it will have very good word-of-mouth, though, simply for the fact it's not very funny. All the best jokes are in the ads, but even they preach to the choir. The problem is Sacha Baron Cohen doesn't attempt to reach an audience that needs to hear his humor; he's catering to those who already agree with/like him, so the jokes aren't that subtle, bold or original. He gives liberal audiences what they want, so there are few surprises to speak of and the movie comes across as lazy and one-note. I think it will top off at or around $55 million, which will be a sign to Cohen that he needs to rethink his strategy.

Edwin Davies: Considering how badly Bruno fared with both audiences and critics, this is an okay start to what will probably be an unspectacular run. Even though they aren't directly related to each other in terms of plot or story, Sacha Baron Cohen's films feel like part of one franchise since he is so heavily associated with them through both his writing and acting work on them and his bizarre stunts to promote them, so The Dictator seems to be functioning like a sequel to a film that was not particularly well liked by opening lower. That it didn't completely flop suggests that there is still enough goodwill for Cohen from Borat that people are willing to give him another shot, or that the trailers were funny enough to get them to ignore their misgivings. If word-of-mouth proves to be good, this could outgross Bruno, but I get the feeling that Cohen is trying to make up for lost ground on this one, so if it does make more, it won't be by much.

Jim Van Nest: I have to say, I much prefer Cohen as a sketch comedy guy. The problem with him, for me, is that none of his characters can support a full movie. I LOVED Da Ali G Show, because you got three to five minute snippets of his characters, which is right in their wheelhouse. It's enough time for them to be hilarious, but not too much time that they feel tedious. I also like his as a voice-over guy. His King Julien in Madagascar is a highlight of the series. But a full two hours of nothing but Baron Cohen and one of his over the top characters is simply too much.

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