Reply #5: "'9/11' earnings better than first reported"

[G_j]

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20950~2240690,00.html

'9/11' earnings better than first reported

By Greg Hernandez
Staff Writer


The record-setting box office performance of "Fahrenheit 9/11" was even stronger than projected, with Michael Moore's anti-Bush administration film grossing $23.9 million over the weekend -- more than $2 million higher than original studio estimates, according to final figures released Monday.
Released by Lions Gate Films and IFC Entertainment, "Fahrenheit" is the first movie since 1994's "Four Weddings and a Funeral" to open at No. 1 despite playing in fewer than 900 theaters and is the first documentary ever to debut at the top of the box office heap.

Lions Gate and IFC announced Monday a plan to nearly double the number of theaters for the film, with more than 1,500 theaters booked for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. If current momentum holds, some believe "Fahrenheit" could approach $100 million in domestic ticket sales.

Sunday night business for the controversial documentary was brisk, with the film clearly benefiting from the barrage of free publicity it has generated in recent weeks, in the same way that Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" did earlier this year. Both movies were passed on by the major studios, and both created a firestorm of pre-release controversy. In both cases, audience turnout got a boost from people wanting to see what the fuss was about.

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