Variety: Fahrenheit 9/11 may do $100 million, showing on 2000 screens soon

[Democat]

"Fahrenheit 9/11" went a long way toward recouping its expenses this weekend, and with a wide expansion of runs in the works over the next 10 days, an eventual domestic cume approaching $100 million is not out of the question.

"We were already getting calls from theaters begging for prints,." Lions Gate prexyprexy Tom Ortenberg said Friday. IFC prexy Jonathan SehringJonathan Sehring said, "Harvey said he thought we could be on more than 2,000 within a week or two."

Moore will likely eventually see a profit, too.

"I've never seen a dime of what's called the backend," Moore said Sunday. "Maybe I'll get lucky this time." He pledged to use his share of the profits to "make more films like this one" as well as to donate some portion to civil liberties groups and charities.

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117907104?categoryid=10&cs=1

$100 million possible just for U.S. release - imagine the overseas numbers on top of that.

Moore will use his money to make more movies like this. :)

Note to mods: I meant to post this in the General forum - sorry about the title not being the same as the one on the article.

[Lorien]

1. Excellent!

Look for a complete WH and Freeper meltdown if Weinstien's predictions are correct!:bounce:

[AussieInCA]

2. muhuwaha: Bushco has so much material..suck it up freepers!

Moore will be busy for years with all the funds he has now!

[whirlygigspin]

3. shaaaaaawiiiiiiiiiing!

yeah,baby!

[SKKY]

41. I'm hearing his next target is going to be the Health Care Industry...

One thing you can say about Michael Moore, he doesn't back down from a good fight!

[Roy]

7. Next target should be the media.......

[leQ]

10. really. imagine the feathers that would get ruffled

that's a great idea!

[alittlelark]

4. The overseas #'s will be astounding

They want to know what we have been (finally) exposed to - at $9.50 a pop at that

[arcos]

17. tickets are MUCH cheaper around the world...

I pay $3.5

[Hekate]

22. Th' heck with "overseas"--our US citizens need to see it!!!

The foreign audiences already know the score. I mean, it's fine if the overseas distribution is terrific, and I hope it is.

But the only numbers I'm going to get excited about are the number of theaters that show F911 in the "homeland" and the number of Americans who see it -- because WE are the people who can vote those bastards out of office.

Hekate

[LibertyorDeath]

5. To Moore to Lions Gate to everyone involved with this

awesome production You are True Patriots.

I gotta go see it again. It's stuck in my head.

To the Weinstien's Cheers :toast:

[cliss]

6. The right-wingers NEMESIS has arrived.

Michael Moore thanked the right-wing groups for creating more publicity by trying to bury it.

The more they denounce it, the more it grows in stature and power. As the movie rages on, it burns on screens across the US and Canada. I can't even get it because it was completely sold out.

[AwakeAtLast]

8. Bush* will now have to start talking

There is no way he will get away with a pat answer on this movie. He will have to start being specific and will have to thoroughly answer questions. If he does not, mainstream America will hand him his ass! I love it!

[Geo55]

34. Don't know what the poor bastard

Spinshitters are gonna have him say....but being mum an' ignoring it don't look good either....they're screwed.

[cosmicone]

9. Coup de grace

With just one documentary, Moore has destroyed years of venomous brainwashing by the likes of Limbaugh, Hannity, Savage, O'Reilly et al.

I love it!!!

There is something ominous that I read though. The Carlyle group was buying a movie theater chain. I think BushCo is out buying up all the theater chains so this last outlet of honest public outcry can be sealed off. We need to protest loudly to stop this from happening.

[LiberalVoice]

14. The Carlyle Group bought Loews theatre's.

But, they haven't stopped the showings. I went and saw F 9/11 at a Loews theatre on Friday!

[cprise]

16. That's OK

I'm sure they will be looking to push every sort of movie that contradicts F911 or stokes fear of foreign governments.

Control of media is now a long-term investment strategy for military contractors.

For now, they get to cash in on Moore's success- So they can use it against us later.

[ladjf]

24. The administration and big business can attempt to flood

the theaters with their propaganda. But, who would pay money to see the same junk that they can already view on the networks for free?
People have flocked to the showings of F9/11 for a very logical reason, they are hungry from the truth, for views that are never shown by the national media.

[stickdog]

18. The deal hasn't been finalized yet. And if they pull the plug on it too

fast, it will just create even Moore publicity.

[monchie]

25. Carlyle doesn't own Loew's...yet.

The news stories just announced Carlyle's planned purchase (with two other investors) of Loew's about a week ago. It takes time for these things to be finalized...the deal closing probably won't be for a few months. So there's probably nothing they could do about closing down F911 unless they strongarmed the current owners.

The danger comes in the future. Say Moore wants to make another movie and goes to the Weinstein brothers for financing. They tell him, "Sorry, Michael, but we just can't make any money on this, even with your track record. Loew's just bought up 10 more theatre chains, and they just refuse to screen your films."

So the film doesn't get made.

"What about video?" you ask. Well, VHS/DVD rental in this country is overwhelmingly dominated by one company, Blockbuster. Its corporate owner, Viacom, has had the "for sale" sign out on it for awhile, though I'm not sure if they're still looking for a buyer. Now, suppose Carlyle (or another firm hostile to the kinds of docs Moore makes) buys Blockbuster. Voila--there's another reason why the Weinstein brothers, or Lion's Gate, or IFC might be leery of putting money into a Moore project despite his profitable track record.

You know, I really do hate thinking along tinfoil hat type lines, but it really does seem odd that a company whose primary businesses buy and sell military hardware or provide products and services to government agencies would buy up a theatre chain.

[Eloriel]

33. I'm with ya

All they have to do is weather this storm, keep buying (or let Clear Channel and some of their other "friends" buy some goodies too) and we won't have ANY way to get our "real news" except the internet, and I worry about that as well.

[cosmicone]

36. That is exactly what I am concerned about n/t

[struggle4progress]

11. Ha! The rightwing has been saying nobody wants to see the movie!

[shockingelk]

12. Kerry could use $100 mil

Each time I watch F911, I pledge to donate the price of admission to the cause of defeating President Asterisk.

Anybody else on board?

[grytpype]

13. F911 should do great overseas!

[The Animator]

15. Could you imagine what could occur...

If Micheal Moore, Al Franken, Bill Maher, Lewis Black and Howard Stern all combined forces to create a film about stupidity, media bias and censorship?

[LiberalVoice]

19. It gives me goosebumps thats for sure. n/t

[Zhade]

21. Lewis Black is the MAN!

I love that guy. He gets so...so...so angry!

:evilgrin:

[a_random_joel]

31. Ha! A Dreamworks for the Left!

Has a nice ring to it.

[The Animator]

42. Oh and I almost forgot

What Bush bashing team could be complete without the amazing John Stewart!

[TexasBushwhacker]

20. Welcome to the "no backend" club Mike

I'm not surprised that Moore has never seen any revenue from the back end. Hollywood works on the concept of "rolling break even" where as the film makes more money, the profits are eaten up in costs - prints, advertising, etc. The real players in Hollywood get a percentage of the GROSS. If you wait for a percentage of the net profit, you'll never get it. Net profit points in a contract are called "monkey points". I'm not in the movie business and even I know that.

FYI, Moore's next target is the HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY. The working title is "Sicko".

[Eye and Monkey]

23. I am proud to have contributed 8$ to that 100 mil.

Proud enough to maybe go see it again. Just on general principle.

[Ganja Ninja]

26. Happy now Disney shareholders?

[Mountainman]

27. Imagine the freeps thinking they could stop Michael Moore

I've read several freep threads where the brain dead knuckle draggers try to think of ways to stop people from seeing F 9/11. It's like the kid with his finger in the dike. They can't hold back the tide of truth washing their world of denial away.

[JPZenger]

28. Sold Out Around the Country

On www.michaelmoore.com they have reports of sold out theaters around the country. His mailboxes are overflowing - they cannot accept new email today.

Shows in Philadelphia on opening day were sold out three days in advance. Sunday they were sold out a day in advance. Other theaters in eastern PA. were also sold out with hundreds of people turned away.

Locally, it was great to see the commercial theaters miss out on the
bucks, while the community theaters were able to have a great fundraiser.

[gasperc]

29. shit, I hope he wasn't stupid and took monkey points

you always ask for a % of the box office gross, even its 0.0001%. Slimy hollywood accounting even shows blockbusters losing money.

[rocktivity]

30. This explains the moveup of the Iraq soverignty handover!

:evilgrin:
rockantion

[Mace]

32. Fahreinheit 9/11 made more than

Bowling for columbine in three days than Bowling for columbine has ever made.

I find that pretty impressive.

[Zero Gravitas]

35. Even my Dad (who voted for *)

liked it. However he has already woken up to the dangers of the Bush* Regime and was planning on voting for Kerry anyway (first time he will vote for a Dem, ever as far as I know.)

[robertpaulsen]

37. Kick this to the top!

And give Moore a Medal of Honor!

[LiberalUprising]

38. KICK!

[stanwyck]

39. The money will change everything

people care what we have to say now. Because, collectively, we're a market. A very, very lucrative market. So, watch for the suitors to come calling. We're now the most sought after people in the country. Liberals with money. Liberals with clout. Watch out.

[sendero]

40. Thank you...

... exactly. The only reason there has never been anything like this is that nobody thought there was a market.

So much for that thought :)

[proud patriot]

43. Wouldn't be something if bush got the "Best Actor" Academy Award

This year :crazy:

[LoneStarBeaver]

44. I do not see $100 million as...

this weekend gives Moore some formidable competition. Instead of going against "White Girls", Mr. Moore now has to contend with "Spiderman 2". Will 2000 screens be enough to tackle the Sam Raimi behemoth?

[GaryL]

46. Well.....

Both movies ARE about cartoon characters. :evilgrin:

[chascarrillo]

49. $100m easy

Usually, you'd multiply the initial weekend's grosses 3 to 4 times to get the estimated total gross. However, a large expansion like Lions Gate is proposing will just about guarantee a gross equal to last weekend's - and hey, it's a holiday weekend, so probably even more than that.

Spiderman 2 will of course be the #1 movie next weekend, but it won't hurt 9/11's numbers.

[AlFrankenFan]

45. Wouldn't surprise me

if it was the highest grossing film of all time. All it means is this is bad news for Bush.

[despairing optimist]

47. B*'s numbers plummeting, Michael Moore's soaring

That means it's *really* morning in America this time. Kerry by a landslide. A Democratic Senate at the least, maybe the House too.

It can happen. I hope Moore gets the Medal of Freedom someday. Do I hear any seconds for the motion?

[RamboLiberal]

48. I hope in the fall Moore gets this out to college campuses

with informed discussion groups. One disturbing thing he said in talking to the 8PM EDT Moveon house parties was that he had previewed to about 200 college students then asked after how many were voting for Nader and about half put up their hands. He was discouraged after seeing the film that they didn't know how important it is this year to vote for Kerry.

I'd like all college age students to see this movie and to hear that voting for Bush or Nader may be the vote that brings back the draft and those in that age range are the RPG, IED fodder for Bush and his Halliburton buddies.

[DaveSZ]

50. I'm a college age person

I see no evidence that Kerry will be any better than BUsh in regards to Iraq.

I guess at least he won't invade Syria, Iran, and North Korea.


You could look at it that way.

I think his entire life he has shown great courage to stand up for what is just, but this is when Kerry needs that courage the most.