Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006)
RT Audience Score: 79%
Awards & Nominations: Nominated for 1 Oscar
20 wins & 34 nominations total
Part satire, part shockumentary,Borat gets high-fives almost all-around for being offensive in the funniest possible way. Jagshemash
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is a hilarious and outrageous film that will have you laughing until your sides hurt. Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance as the faux Kazakh journalist is daring and edgy, and the social criticism in the film is both serious and thought-provoking. While some may find the humor offensive, it’s hard not to appreciate the way the film takes on racism, bigotry, and sexism in a way that is both entertaining and enlightening. If you’re looking for a movie that will make you laugh and make you think, Borat is definitely worth checking out.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
20th Century Fox
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Glod, Romania
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for pervasive strong crude and sexual content including graphic nudity, and language
Year of Release
2006
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 24m
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Language(s):English, Romanian, Hebrew, Polish, Armenian
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Nov 3, 2006 Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 6, 2007
Genre(s)
Comedy
Keyword(s)
Borat, Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Pamela Anderson, Ken Davitian, Larry Charles, Jay Roach, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Comedy, R rating, Box Office, Gross USA, 20th Century Fox, SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS, Dolby SRD, Flat, Offensive, Satire, Shockumentary, Critic Reviews, Reviewed by Ed Gonzalez, David Ansen, Brian Tallerico, Joe Williams, Andrew Sarris, Richard Roeper, David Walsh, Richard Crouse, Micheal Compton, Mattie Lucas, Joel Siegel, Nick Pinkerton, Audience Reviews, Directed by Larry Charles, Written by Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer, Produced by Jay Roach
Worldwide gross: $262,552,893
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $387,175,480
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 395
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 42,221,972
US/Canada gross: $128,505,958
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $189,502,220
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 385
US/Canada opening weekend: $26,455,463
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $39,012,736
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 325
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $26,543,827
Production budget ranking: 1,224
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $14,293,851
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $346,337,802
ROI to date (est.): 848%
ROI ranking: 150
Pamela Anderson – Self
Ken Davitian – Azamat Bagatov
Luenell – Luenell
Bob Barr – Self
David Corcoran – Self
Director(s)
Larry Charles
Writer(s)
Sacha Baron Cohen, Anthony Hines, Peter Baynham, Dan Mazer
Producer(s)
Jay Roach
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
Nominated for 1 Oscar
20 wins & 34 nominations total
Academy Awards
Oscar Nominees
All Critics (220) | Top Critics (56) | Fresh (199) | Rotten (21)
Borat’s cultural learning is revealing, even if it doesn’t adequately convey how it benefits glorious nation of Kazakhstan.
July 16, 2008
Ed Gonzalez
House Next Door
TOP CRITIC
The backlash just proves how deep a nerve the faux Kazakh journalist has hit.
November 1, 2007
David Ansen
Newsweek
TOP CRITIC
The genius of Borat is all in Sacha Baron Cohen’s daring, edgy, unrestrained performance.
March 24, 2007
Brian Tallerico
UGO
TOP CRITIC
Borat is a serious work of social criticism. But it’s also the funniest movie I’ve ever seen.
November 22, 2006 | Rating: A
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
TOP CRITIC
The theory of comedy here is that you can get away with almost anything if you manage to make your target audience feel superior to the human beings being mocked on the screen.
November 15, 2006
Andrew Sarris
Observer
TOP CRITIC
I did find this to be one of the more inventive, aggressively offensive and insanely tasteless comedies in many a year. And yeah, that’s a thumbs-up.
November 13, 2006
Richard Roeper
Ebert & Roeper
TOP CRITIC
In the tactics of Cohen, Charles and their collaborators … there is a level of social insularity, sneering and intellectual sadism that is positively disturbing.
February 14, 2021
David Walsh
World Socialist Web Site
Borat is funny, spleen-bursting funny, although you may catch yourself wondering if these are the kind of jokes you should be laughing at.
January 31, 2021 | Rating: 4/5
Richard Crouse
Richard Crouse
It wallows gleefully in its very un-PC humor, but that is part of what makes it work so well. Cohen and director Larry Charles make the unthinkable funny — and in the process might just get you to think about racism, bigotry and sexism.
November 20, 2019
Micheal Compton
Bowling Green Daily News
A gut-busting, uncompromising, totally outrageous film that takes the comedy of embarrassment to new, unprecedented levels.
June 6, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Mattie Lucas
The Dispatch (Lexington, NC)
Offensive? Yes, but I haven’t laughed this hard since the Marx Brothers and Laurel and Hardy.
January 5, 2018 | Rating: A
Joel Siegel
Good Morning America
For better or for worse, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan is unique, an important movie, a multiplex comedy that doubles as a conceptual art epic.
June 8, 2016
Nick Pinkerton
Stop Smiling…
Plot
Borat Sagdiyev is a TV reporter of a popular show in Kazakhstan as Kazakhstan’s sixth most famous man and a leading journalist. He is sent from his home to America by his government to make a documentary about American society and culture. Borat takes a course in New York City to understand American humor. While watching Baywatch on TV, Borat discovers how beautiful their women are in the form of C. J. Parker, who was played by actress Pamela Anderson who hails from Malibu, California. He decides to go on a cross-country road trip to California in a quest to make her his wife and take her back to his country. On his journey Borat and his producer encounter a country full of strange and wonderful Americans, real people in real chaotic situations with hysterical consequences.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sacha Baron Cohen’s performance as Borat is described as “daring, edgy, unrestrained” and “genius” by critics.
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