"Fahrenheit 9/11" to Open June 25th in 1,000 Theaters

Thanks lighwizard for bringing our attention to the St. Petersburg Times confirmation that the Saudi flight actually did take place 2 days after 9/11.

Michael Moore has a team in place to answer all untrue accusations in relation to "F911" content. So far most of the complaints have been fuzzy and not specific from persons who have not seen the film.

An example of the level of criticism that has been leveled at the film: KSFO Radio Talk Show host Melanie Morgan said "The movie is crap. It's not good. It is wrong."

No contest so far. It looks as though the film's detractors will actually have to view the film and take notes to be able to produce any specific accusations.

It looks like the film could do 30M plus over the weekend and beat out everything else. This will make those leveling their sophomoric and base critical jibes extremely angry. I can see why Moore has hired bodyguards.

Moore was on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show last night. He was affable and quite frank that he was partisan, and that his opinions are there to be accepted or rejected. The notion that the producer/director of a documentary cannot make his own op-ed critical comments is ridiculously purist.

The showing at the Grand Theater in Oakland have sold out every show thus far. Evidently, it's rated R, but the owner of the theater is letting 13 year olds into his theater to see the movie, because he said the rating was politically motivated, and we see/hear worse language daily and gore on CNN regularly.

My local huge Krikorean multiplex has lines and many shows are sold out in advance.

Moore thanked the conservative groups who are trying to stop the showing of the film as they are bringing him more attendance.

LW, That's one of the great ironies of politics. There's always to sides to contend with.

Moore makes no allusions to being fair or not taking his own personal point of view. On Jon Stewart's show he said, "I may be right. I may be wrong." That's for each individual to decide and if the parts add up to the whole. He also congratulated conservative groups for boosting the box office with their efforts to censor the film. They're trying to do what William Randolph Hearst did with "Citizen Kane."

Politicians never seem to learn from history.

They don't even learn that they don't learn from history.

Does a double negative make it a positive?

Not really. It makes a conundrum.

well IMO two wrongs dont make a right they make a big poop pie and then we all gotta eat a slice
(my new saying is when we are all together we are all right but when we are divided we are all wrong)
only when you multiply two negative numbers in maths does it make a positive number but then again in math when you multiply two imaginary numbers you get a real number...hmmm
and politicians couldnt gave an erm monkeys about truth and whats wrong or right ...as long as them n their mates are in power and their bank accounts are into 6 or 7 figures..besides they make the laws while only we have to obey them all these countries actualy have agreements so you cant bring these people to justice ie diplomatic immunity its plain wrong
and this american soldier immunity the usa is trying to push thru the un is outrageous
and recently i read the usa has made deals with 80 other countries for mutual agreements to hold its erm representatives beyond prosecution

so its good to see mr moore is actually doing something to hammer this home into the tiny brains of the public..... these people can only get away with erm shafting us all if we all let em
ps i love the BBB posted report with the quote

america uber alles all raise your right arms now please

im not just having a go at the good old usa here
i think this is the same in every counrty especially the uk too
the problem with this world is us people think we need to be governed whereas in reality the real problem is the government
reality is based on agreement
while we all agree they have the power it makes it real
if we all had to do it ourselves n take our own erm poop if anything went wrong i think we all soon learn to be nice to each other
hmm ive said enough
ill be getting a visit from the men in black if im not careful
peace n love y'all
power to the people and mr moore

Check out the thread on the box office later today and Variety's weekend preliminary figures will be posted. LInk:

http://www.able2know.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10341

This means not only will "F9/11" (why does that sound like a fighter plane?) open to overwhelmingly positive reviews but will break records.

What some don't get is that while it is classified as a documentary because it is a series of documents, it does not preclude presenting the material in a comedic and satirical way. They will attack details of the commentary as in Moore's not mentioning the prime country in the coalition, Britain, when he makes his sarcastically bent comments on the coalition. Anyone not knowing that Tony Blair is involved in the war has been living on Mars anyway. I've commented before about Moore's "sin of ommission" but it is up to every viewer to know the facts. Moore himself has stated that he isn't being fair. As if those who are in opposition can brag about being fair.

My niece and her husband tried to get tickets for F9/11 at a Long Beach cineplex and most of the shows for the weekend were sold out.

Yes, his film ignored boykott appeals and break a new record. well done, Michael Moore. :-)

Variety has reported that a 100M gross is not out of the question. Lion's Gate intends on expanding the distribution to over 1000 screens. Bye, bye, Mr. Bush.

sheesh mr moores gonna be one rich dude after all this
what will he think of next i wonder

'Fahrenheit 9/11' a hit across America
By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Bush-bashing became a favourite 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.

According to studio estimates issued on Sunday, "Fahrenheit 9/11," in which Moore takes aim at U.S. President George W. Bush, and the war in Iraq, opened at No. 1 after selling about $21.8 million (11.9 million pounds) worth of tickets in the United States and Canada since June 25.

All told, the movie's total stands at $21.96 million, because it got a head-start on Wednesday in two Manhattan theatres to help build more media buzz before expanding to a relatively modest 868 theatres two days later. (By contrast, most of the other movies in the top five were playing in more than 2,500 theatres each.)

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 theatres, according to Moore. That haul was a record for a documentary in regular movie theatres.

"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."

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.

"FAHRENHEIT" FRENZY

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.

Lions Gate, a unit of Lions Gate Entertainment, partnered on the film's distribution with IFC Films, a unit of Cablevision Systems' Rainbow Media Holdings, 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.

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-practised 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.

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.

But one thing is certain. The Oscar race is now definitely underway ahead of next year's February 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.

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.

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.

"White Chicks" was released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony. "Dodgeball" was released by Twentieth Century Fox, a unit of News Corp.'s Fox Entertainment Group "The Terminal" was released by DreamWorks, which is privately held. "The Notebook" was released by New Line Cinema, a unit of Time Warner Inc.

'Fahrenheit 9/11' Ignites Box Office Passion
by Brandon Gray (www.boxofficemojo.com)
June 28, 2004



HOLLYWOOD (Box Office Mojo) - Over three million people elected Fahrenheit 9/11 to be the No. 1 movie of America.

Incensing as many as it's entrancing, writer-director Michael Moore's Bush bash celebrated over the weekend with $23.9 million at 868 theaters, beating co-distributor Lions Gate's $21.8 million estimate on Sunday by 9%. Lions Gate released the picture along with IFC Films and Fellowship Adventure Group -- the latter quickly formed by Miramax chiefs Bob and Harvey Weinstein to release the $6 million picture after buying it back from corporate parent Disney. Around $10 million was spent on prints and advertising, less than a third of the average Hollywood release.

The estimate for Fahrenheit 9/11 was trounced thanks to a much stronger than expected Sunday. Breaking the weekend down, the picture attracted nearly $8.6 million on Friday, fell 5% on Saturday to about $8.1 million, but then eased just 12% to around $7.2 million on Sunday. By comparison, the other wide releases in the marketplace experienced Sunday drops ranging from 22% to 35%.

With $24.1 million in the till since its record-breaking debut in New York City on Wednesday, Fahrenheit 9/11 is already the highest grossing documentary of all time -- excluding large format, concert and other non-"apples-to-apples" sub-genres - surpassing Moore's own Bowling for Columbine's $21.6 million lifetime gross.

Fahrenheit is also the first documentary to land in the weekend top five, let alone be No. 1. Its opening topped Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction's $9.3 million as the best ever for a Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or winner, and it was Tarantino's jury that handed Moore the prize this year.

Fahrenheit's $27,558 per theater average ranks as the second highest all time for a wide release (adjusting for ticket price inflation knocks it down to No. 11) and the best of 2004, ahead of The Passion of the Christ's $27,554 and Shrek 2's $25,951. However, they were super-saturation releases playing at 3,043 and 4,163 theaters respectively -- the lower the theater count, the easier it is to have a high average as the release isn't diluted by less populous locations with lower ticket prices.

Fahrenheit's performance harkens back to the days when big movies wouldn't play in every nook and cranny of the country, but would bow at around 700 or 1,000 theaters to sell out crowds. Perhaps the greatest example of this, Return of the Jedi debuted to $23 million at 1,002 theaters in 1983, which would adjust to $45 million by today's ticket prices. In terms of raw dollars, Fahrenheit is actually the biggest opening ever for a movie playing at less than 1,000 theaters, topping Rocky III's $12.4 million at 939 venues.

Controversy is proving to be bigger business than ever. Prior to this year, it was seen as a way to raise awareness and help bolster a picture to modest returns (Dogma, Last Temptation of Christ). Chatter about its global warming themes didn't hurt The Day After Tomorrow either, which opened beyond expectations and is a solid blockbuster with $175.6 million to date. But it was Moore and Mel Gibson with The Passion of the Christ who have taken it to the next level: Controversy as saturation marketing campaign.

Though The Passion is perceived as the opposite of Fahrenheit in terms of whom it appeals to, both Moore and Gibson enlisted today's mass media to work for them, knowing that everyone from 24-hour news channels to talk radio would eat up the grand hot topic issues of their movies with the littlest of stoking. Gibson took the more strategic approach with his surgical strike appearances and screenings, but he had months to wage his campaign. Fahrenheit didn't have a release date, let alone a distributor, until a few weeks ago, so Moore and company used the shotgun approach, showing up everywhere and heralding every single development of the movie's progress.

NEW TV CAMPAIGN FOR "F911"

On Wednesday morning, a news conference organized by the film's distributors was held in front of a theater playing the film on New York's Upper West Side. It featured members of Military Families Speak Out, who endorsed Moore's film and recounted personal tales of loved ones sent to Iraq.

Said MFSO member Nancy Lessin: "When the drumbeats for war were deafening, we had a sign (in our window) that said, 'My son is a Marine. Don't send him to war for oil!' We didn't want our loved ones to be sent around the world to be used as cannon fodder. I can't tell you how important Michael Moore's movie is in bringing back the ability to have a dialogue."

The film's distributors plan to make use of similar testimonials in a new national TV campaign that began running Wednesday, 6/30/04.

Excerpted from: http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/internet/07/01/fahrenheit.piracy.reut/index.html