Moore Shocked by 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Opening

[Truth]

"Fahrenheit 9/11" filmmaker Michael Moore called the opening weekend numbers
for his documentary "mind-boggling" and credited his political opponents for
boosting ticket sales.

"They're all getting a Christmas card from me this year," said Moore, who greeted
filmgoers at a downtown Manhattan theater on Sunday.

The film, an indictment of President Bush's leadership and his decision to go to war
in Iraq following the 2001 terrorist attacks, took in $21.8 million in 868 theaters in
its first three days of release. It beat the total box office take of Moore's 2002
film, "Bowling for Columbine," which held the previous record for highest-grossing
documentary.

Moore said that conservative groups helped draw attention and viewers to his
latest film. He said the movie will convince "a lot of swing voters, independents and
even Republicans."

Moore said it sold out in Fort Bragg, N.C., and Peoria, Ill., states that went to Bush
in the 2000 presidential election. "It sold out in red states throughout the
country," he said.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...=790&e=3&u=/ap/20040628/ap_en_mo/people_moore

 

[flaps]

A friend of my sister was struck by lightning in 4th grade, and one time my dad got a good zap tryin' to rescue a kitty stuck in a dryer vent.

DH works with electricity to some degree at his primary job, so he's gotten a jolt on a few occasions. And I've even felt some tiny twinges myself more than a few times in the course of my life.

But never - NEVER - in all my short-lived days have I heard of ANY one being shocked by a film's opening.

I'm a little skeptical, but stranger things have happened, I know.

But to be on the safe side, maybe I best steer a wide path away from that flick afterall...

 

[Eeyore1954]

A "mind-boggling" opening?

F9/11 opening this past weekend puts it in 222nd place among all films for an opening weekend. Film #223 was the memorable Lara Croft, The Cradle of Life". What was #221?

Legally Blonde: Red, White and Blonde" Imagine that ... more people showed up for a Reese Witherspoon "dumb blonde" movie's opening than F9/11.

Yeah, it's mind-boggling alright!

 

[WeirdEyes]

Once "Spiderman 2" opens, F/911 will be history.

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

 

[auntpolly]

It's a very impressive opening for a <i>documentary</i>. Documentary film makers probably would get a nice pleasant "shock" from those numbers. I haven't seen it, so I can't comment. My daughter's comment was, "It was funny at times, but I just wanted to cry."

Our country prefers Legally Blonde? What can I say? People get sucked in by all kinds of dumb things....(ex: Paris Hilton, The Surreal World, GWB....lots of things.)

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

It sold out here in Conservative County, USA...Greenville, SC. It is only being shown in one theater, so people are coming from long distances to see it.

Maybe MM is considering the opening "mind boggling" because it is a documentary, created to make people think and discuss. A lot of people go to movies to escape, not to think....(myself included, most of the time)

And his "Christmas Card" reference is to the political groups who attempted to prevent this movie from even getting into the theaters, including calls to theater owners telling them not to run it. I don't know about you, but I don't like any political group telling me what I can and can't see at the theater, as long as it is within the rating system. Moore's comments refer to the fact that all the hoopla about the film is drawing in more and more people-free advertising...

Although Legally Blonde was a cute movie, I really didn't have much to think about or discuss after leaving the theater.

 

[wvrevy]

Still at it, huh, Steve ?



Hmmm....Let's see...How many screens did Legally Blonde open on ? How about Tomb Raider ? Somehow, I think it was a few more than the 800 or so that F9/11 opened on.

Oh, but that's not important, right ?



We really need a "spinning" smiley for use when repyling to that kind of post

 

[Teejay32]

I'm glad that so many have gone to see this movie, because I want to know what thoughts are being provoked and what it brings up for discussion. What's the point of it. Etc.

 

[peachgirl]

When you consider that it's a documentary and had a limited release, there's simply no denying the fact that it has done amazingly well at the box office.

Why it has done so well is a matter of opinion, but to try and argue that it hasn't is just whistling in the dark.

 

[auntpolly]

Originally posted by peachgirl
When you consider that it's a documentary and had a limited release, there's simply no denying the fact that it has done amazingly well at the box office.

Why it has done so well is a matter of opinion, but to try and argue that it hasn't is just whistling in the dark.

Yeah, I would have thought that if you wanted to take a cheap shot it you would say something like, "Conservatives went to it to make fun of it", or simply make fun of all the people who went. But to compare the box office results to "Legally Blonde"? Not very creative!

 

[Truth]

Originally posted by Teejay32
What's the point of it.

Is that a rhetorical question or does the point really escape you ?

 

[WDSearcher]

I don't know what Moore is so surprised about. He basically engineered all the press he's getting specifically to keep the film in the public eye and in the news and to get people there on opening day. He's got a lot of people who like his stuff, and there are a lot of people against the war right now. From the first second that he yelled "censorship" at Disney (without checking what the definition was, by the way) until the day it opened, he's been pushing his big ol' mug into the camera any chance he gets.

Why he's surprised it worked is beyond me. It's exactly the result he was expecting.

 

[Paradise]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
A "mind-boggling" opening?

F9/11 opening this past weekend puts it in 222nd place among all films for an opening weekend. Film #223 was the memorable Lara Croft, The Cradle of Life". What was #221?

Legally Blonde: Red, White and Blonde" Imagine that ... more people showed up for a Reese Witherspoon "dumb blonde" movie's opening than F9/11.

Yeah, it's mind-boggling alright!

Haha:

The Right certainly prefer dumb blondes and the moron sitting in the White House.

You had to go to great lengths to pull down the gross of F-9/11. But asked anyone on Wall Street and they will tell you that investing $6 million in F-9/11 was a much safer bet that $130 million in Harry Potter... Not knowing which one could have turned out to be a dud or a hit at the boxoffice.

Per theatre, F-9/11 has outgrossed the biggest Blockbusters this summer:
"Fahrenheit averaged a phenomenal $27,558 per theater, the best wide-release average this year, surpassing both Passion's $27,554, and Shrek 2's $25,951. Budgeted at a modest $6 million"

http://www.einsiders.com/gross.php
**********************

The NRA: The most valuable asset American
gun manufacturers could hope to have.
Because, contrary to popular belief, it isn't
an organization that defends freedom...
It's an organization that gets as many guns sold as possible.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
Still at it, huh, Steve ?

Someone has to provide some balance to the overinflated hype about this past weekend?

Hmmm....Let's see...How many screens did Legally Blonde open on ? How about Tomb Raider ? Somehow, I think it was a few more than the 800 or so that F9/11 opened on.

Oh, but that's not important, right ?

Actually this is a key point. People making comparisons about F9/11's "per theatre" take against the Passion or Shrek 2 or even Tomb Raider are missing one point: all those films opened on thousands of theatres, so obviously their first weekend take is going to be diluted by the math.

For example, Shrek 2 opened on 3,300+ screens yielding an average of $25,951. This is inaccurately compared against F9/11 which opened on only 868 screens, yielding an average of $27,558.

For the sake of argument, let's say F9/11 opened on the same number of screens and brought in the same $21.8 mil. Gee, now it averages to $6,606.06 per theatre. Not so impressive. By the same token, if Shrek 2 opened on only 868 screens and brought in the same weekend gross, it's per theatre revenues would more than triple.

Fuzzy math is fun.

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Someone has to provide some balance to the overinflated hype about this past weekend? Actually this is a key point. People making comparisons about F9/11's "per theatre" take against the Passion or Shrek 2 or even Tomb Raider are missing one point: all those films opened on thousands of theatres, so obviously their first weekend take is going to be diluted by the math.

For example, Shrek 2 opened on 3,300+ screens yielding an average of $25,951. This is inaccurately compared against F9/11 which opened on only 868 screens, yielding an average of $27,558.

For the sake of argument, let's say F9/11 opened on the same number of screens and brought in the same $21.8 mil. Gee, now it averages to $6,606.06 per theatre. Not so impressive. By the same token, if Shrek 2 opened on only 868 screens and brought in the same weekend gross, it's per theatre revenues would more than triple.

Fuzzy math is fun.

So, why are you assuming that, had F9/11 opened on 3,000+ screens, it would have only brought in the same take ? That's a pretty big assumption to make, isn't it ? Would nobody have gone to those other theaters at all ?

Sorry, Steve, but you're just plain wrong on this one. No matter how much you might wish otherwise, F9/11 was a huge success...ANY movie would be considered a huge success if it tripled it's investment in the first weekend...Trying to deny it just makes you look more and more desperate. Why not just admit that the movie did very well for it's limited opening and let it go ?

 

[dizneenut]

Originally posted by WeirdEyes
Once "Spiderman 2" opens, F/911 will be history.

And that's all I'm gonna say about that.

 

[Eeyore1954]

Originally posted by wvrevy
So, why are you assuming that, had F9/11 opened on 3,000+ screens, it would have only brought in the same take ? That's a pretty big assumption to make, isn't it ? Would nobody have gone to those other theaters at all ?

Sorry, Steve, but you're just plain wrong on this one. No matter how much you might wish otherwise, F9/11 was a huge success...ANY movie would be considered a huge success if it tripled it's investment in the first weekend...Trying to deny it just makes you look more and more desperate. Why not just admit that the movie did very well for it's limited opening and let it go ?

All hail the Supreme Spinmeister!

I made no assumptions in my last post. I pointed out the fuzzy math used in comparisons of F9/11 to other films per theatre take. Maybe you should try READING posts first.

Any film with a weekend gross of only $21.8 mill is not considered a huge success in Hollywood. The media redefines the word success in this case because it's a MM production. God forbid it be considered anything less, but if it were anyone else's production, it would hardly be declared a "huge success."

I'm not denying anything; just providing some balance. Maybe YOU are the one who needs to let it go and quit bailing this Titanic?

 

[wvrevy]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
All hail the Supreme Spinmeister!

I made no assumptions in my last post. I pointed out the fuzzy math used in comparisons of F9/11 to other films per theatre take. Maybe you should try READING posts first.

Any film with a weekend gross of only $21.8 mill is not considered a huge success in Hollywood. The media redefines the word success in this case because it's a MM production. God forbid it be considered anything less, but if it were anyone else's production, it would hardly be declared a "huge success."

I'm not denying anything; just providing some balance. Maybe YOU are the one who needs to let it go and quit bailing this Titanic?

You're right, Steve...Everybody in the world is wrong, except you and the others on the political right trying to spin the numbers....It's all a vast conspiracy to make money for Michael Moore (who got booed off stage at the Academy Awards...that must have just been cover by the Hollywood types to throw you off the scent )

Hey...I heard Titanic actually didn't do that well either...Seems that it was all a liberal conspiracy to try to damage the cruise industry in favor of the more liberal leaning airlines....

 

[spagheddie]

Originally posted by Eeyore1954
Any film with a weekend gross of only $21.8 mill is not considered a huge success in Hollywood. The media redefines the word success in this case because it's a MM production. God forbid it be considered anything less, but if it were anyone else's production, it would hardly be declared a "huge success."

Any movie that made three times as much as it cost to make is a success even in Hollywood.

 

[faithinkarma]

I have been absent from these discussions for a brief while. I grew completely disenchanted with the endless bickering....bickering by posters both pro and con about Clinton's book, that had not even hit the stands yet. Bickering by posters about a movie they had not yet seen. I did not like the tone of my own arguments. In my frustration I was growing shrill.

I do not understand this constant harping at something one has not seen. For those who say ridiculous things like they do not need to step in poop to know it is poop...give me a break...an idea is not poop...it has to be examined legitimately to pass judgement on it.

I offer a challenge....how about seeing the movie and then discussing its flaws? To me that is the logical thing for the republicans to be saying. "Get out there, see the movie, and challenge its premises". Not "don't see it". When they encourage you not to see it, they are saying they believe it is full of misconceptions, but you are not smart enough to realize that. If you go see it, you might be so dumb as to believe what you see. Give yourselves more credit than your leaders do.

I saw the moive. I would love to discuss it with someone. But I see little point in arguing with someone who has not seen it, and is only going by someone eles's perception of it.

I can promise you, if this movie was anti John Kerry, I would be there on the first day to see it. I would want to see for myself to be armed to dispute it from my own perspective, not someone else's. Nothing would get me to the theater faster than my own party telling me I should not see it.