i would say bruno is the least known character as he hasnt had many bits and they arent as set up.  the problem is borat essentially has to retire after this movie.  thats what happened to ali g over seas.  so what next. he is so good and staying in character that it makes sense to see what he can do with one that, like borat before, isnt well known.  

If the Bruno movie was opening instead of Borat this weekend I would most likely pass. While funny, his character is no where near as funny as Borat or Ali G. It's sad that he'll have to retire these characters after these movies, but I think it just comes with the territory. The Ali G movie failed because it was scripted. I think the same thing would happen if we saw a Borat scripted movie. Most of the laughter comes from unpredictability of everyday life. Without that shock and awe the joke losses most of it's appeal. Borat will most likely do ok at the box office, but I bet DVD sales will be extremely high. Universal is taking a big chance here.

I too have heard the Borat is tracking very terribly as no one knows who Borat is outside of major cities.  I too think it will be a monster on DVD. Hopefully the theatrical run can put the movie into the black though.  I'll be suprised if it makes me laugh harder than Jackass 2 did, but not too suprised.

Bruno won't hold up to a 90 minute treatment. He seems to get old in the 4-5 minute bits on Da Ali G show. There seem to be more misses with the Bruno character than the other 2 combined.

Does anyone know if Bruno was created specifically for American audiences or was he used in the U.K. too?

I agree, I think a Bruno movie would come off to much like a Zoolander reality show. I just don't see the interest. Borat will do about as well as Clerks II. Sure it has a cult following, but that's just it. It's not the kind of movie that will have such mass apeal. In fact I feel the trailers have been very lackluster, and not at all funny. If I didn't know who Borat was, I would pass too.