“BRUNO” violated Manhattan in the flesh the other night, when Sacha Baron Cohen invaded a Times Square theater and pranced around in character as the flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist.

“Let’s hope that this film realizes its full global potential! Let’s hope it doesn’t have like a really promising start and then peter out like swine flu did! Let’s hope that, like herpes, this film continues to infect all of you,” Cohen roared to a stunned crowd catching a midnight show of “Bruno.”

Decked out in a flashy silver uniform with a bulging red thong, Cohen exploded into the AMC Empire 25 posing, high-fiving and tossing people’s eyeglasses off their faces, then jumping onto a podium for a lurid, hip-grinding dance to disco music, The Post’s Mandy Stadtmiller reports.