- LOS ANGELES - Bush-bashing
became the nation's favorite spectator sport over the weekend as Michael
Moore's red-hot documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" earned more in
its first three days of release across North America than his previous
record-breaking movie did in its entire run.
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- According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Fahrenheit
9/11," in which Moore takes aim at President Bush, and the war in
Iraq, opened at No. 1 after selling about $21.8 million worth of tickets
in the United States and Canada since June 25.
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- All told, the movie's total stands at $21.96 million,
because it got a head-start on Wednesday in two Manhattan theaters to help
build more media buzz before expanding to a relatively modest 868 theaters
two days later. (By contrast, most of the other movies in the top five
were playing in more than 2,500 theaters each.)
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- Moore's previous movie, "Bowling for Columbine,"
which nabbed the Academy Award for best documentary last year, grossed
about $21.5 million during its nine-month run, peaking at about 250 theaters,
according to Moore. That haul was a RECORD FOR A DOCUMENTARY in regular
movie theaters.
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- "These are mind-blowing numbers," Moore said
during a conference call, "And the fact that all the predictions that
the movie would only speak to the choir and that it would only be those
who don't like Bush coming to the movie, I don't think have turned out
to be true."
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- Indeed, "Fahrenheit 9/11" played strongly in
big cities and small towns, in Democrat and Republican states, said Tom
Ortenberg, the president of distribution at Lions Gate Films, one of the
firms that backed the movie.
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- "FAHRENHEIT" FRENZY
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- According to exit surveys in about 15 cities, 91 percent
of respondents gave the film an "excellent" rating, while 93
percent said they would "definitely recommend" the film -- tallies
that Ortenberg said were the best he had ever seen. The core audience was
aged between 25 and 34, he added.
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- Lions Gate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp,
partnered on the film's distribution with IFC Films, a unit of Cablevision
Systems Corp.'s Rainbow Media Holdings LLC, and Miramax co-chairmen Harvey
and Bob Weinstein. The Weinsteins bought the movie's rights with their
own money after Miramax parent Walt Disney Co. refused to let them release
it under the Miramax banner.
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- The Disney brouhaha, which broke in early May, weeks
before "Fahrenheit 9/11" went on to win the top prize at the
Cannes Film Festival, helped give the movie a huge public profile virtually
unprecedented for a $6 million documentary. Moore and the Weinsteins, well-practiced
masters of media spin, were also helped in their efforts by grassroots
groups from both sides of the political fence that chimed in with their
opinions. Moore thanked his detractors for helping boost awareness and
ticket sales.
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- While Moore has previously boasted that "Fahrenheit
9/11" would help Bush lose his job in November, he backed down during
the teleconference, merely hoping that the film would inspire the large
non-voting bloc to be "an active participant in our democracy."
Similarly, Moore reversed himself on previously stated plans to release
the DVD version of the film in October. "No deal has been done to
do that," he said.
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- But one thing is certain. The Oscar race is now definitely
underway ahead of next year's Feb. 27 ceremony, with "Fahrenheit 9/11"
joining Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" as the highest-profile
contender. "We have big plans for the award season, absolutely,"
Ortenberg said.
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- Elsewhere at the box office, the comedy "White Chicks"
opened at No. 2 with $19.6 million for the weekend, and $27.1 million since
bowing nationally on Wednesday. Last weekend's champion, "Dodgeball:
A True Underdog Story," fell to No. 3 with $18.5 million, and a 10-day
haul of $67.2 million.
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- Steven Spielberg's "The Terminal," starring
Tom Hanks, fell two places to No. 4 with $13.9 million, and a 10-day total
of $41.8 million. Director Nick Cassavetes' "The Notebook," a
tear-jerker romance based on the Nicholas Sparks bestseller," opened
at No. 5 with a solid $13 million.
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- "White Chicks" was released by Columbia Pictures,
a unit of Sony Corp. "Dodgeball" was released by Twentieth Century
Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group Inc . "The Terminal"
was released by DreamWorks SKG, which is privately held. "The Notebook"
was released by New Line Cinema, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
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- © 2004 Reuters Ltd
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