Actually, the films are much closer than your numbers let on...

9-11 opened on 868 screens with an average of just over $25,000 per screen.

The Passion opened on more than 4000 screens with an average of just over $27,000 per screen.

However, had 9-11 opened on more than 4000 screens, it's total take wouldn't have come close to The Passion.

And 9-11 won't be getting any of my money. I don't intend to fund this propaganda.

And I doubt F911 will have the staying power other films enjoy. I expect a sharp decline in sales over the next week.

Hmmm... have to update my numbers. The Passion's 3-day weekend take was actually $83.8 million (plus another $23.5 from Wed. and Thur.).

The average I cited above was per site... the average per screen is actually closer to $20,000. I don't know if 9-11 opened on multiple screens in one theatre, but it's not likely. That would mean 9-11's average per screen was higher.

My other point still stands, however. On wider release, 9-11 doesn't have near the power of The Passion... and it won't have near the longevity! Let's just hope it's forgotton as soon as possible!

Interesting data, CJ. The number of screens that any movie distributed by a major distributor opens on is dictated largely by antipated demand. I'd bet money that F9/11 would not have been able to generate that level of ticket sales per screen if it had been on as many screens as The Passion, which was adding screens as it became clear demand was going to be very high.

Also, it's worth noting that The Passion fell from the top slot and then regained the top slot on the box office charts. I doubt F9/11 will be able to do that.

Of course Farenteit 911 had a very limited opening and still managed to set an all time record for documentaries.

Realize that there were not enough seats for all the people who showed up to see the film - I had to buy tickets 24 hours in advance - and they were turning people away from the theatre all weekend long. Not enough seats...

And this was in Nashville... in MA, they were running the film 24 hours a day...

If the film had been available on more screens, the total would have been higher...

Anyway, the buzz from the film is susbstantial - even Republicans are going to see it - and many of those who did not make it to theatre will pick it up on DVD later in the summer.

Bush bashing is now very profitable - the market has spoken...

Yes, more screens would have meant a higher gross, but put 9-11 on 4000+ screens and it doesn't approach the total that The Passion achieved (a total drawfed by Spider Man, which brought in more than 114 million its first weekend!!).

Hello CJ -

Yes controversy sure sells - but apparently not as well as Dr. Octopus... ;-)

but it's hard to say what would have happened if Farenheit 911 had opened on 4000 screens...

Just for the record, it opened on 884 screens... And it was not available in many cities and towns across the US.

But - it dominated the theares in pretty much every tow it did play in. So there is a good chance that the film would have matched The Passion if it had the same distribution...

Let's see how well it does on DVD - that will be the real test of the film's appeal. I know several moderates who want to see the film but are waiting for DVD...

If F9/11 would have done that well on 4,000 screens, they would have put it on 4,000 screens. The fact that it played on fewer than 900 screens, and didn't play in many smaller cities and towns, indicates the distributor does not believe there is significant demand to see this film outside the larger more urban/liberal markets. I also wonder if the distributor and, indeed, Moore himself, are afraid that showing their hate-pic in the smaller, more conservative towns and cities would provoke a backlash and fire up conservative voters.

After all, we have from Moore himself the statement that F9/11 is intended as part of the campaign to oust Bush from the White House. It is more a political campaign commercial from the Democratic Left than a serious documentary.

I wonder how many people bought tickets for the Passion and then sneaked in to see F 9/11?

The lower number of theaters a film opens in, the easier it is to have a high per-screen average. Why? The numbers aren't diluted by less populous locations with lower ticket prices.

F9/11 had limited distribution because of the rift with Disney.

Also because the distributer (lions gate) may not have anticipated the size of the audience for the film.

Bill - your argument does not make sense here - in some states, this film only appeared in two screens total. Whole sections of some states did not have access to the film. Considering that the film played to packed theatres, even in Republican stronghold areas, it is logical to assume that if the film had been available in more areas, it would have made more money.

The film sold out everywhere it played - it maximized the take on 884 screens - and more screens would have meant more money.

It is sophism to suggest otherwise

I agree that, had 9/11 opened on more screens, it would not have been able to sustain the "per screen" average. Despite the buzz of the picture, there are certain segments of the country that are just not interested -- there might be a rough equivalent with the so called red states that went to Bush in the 2000 election. The Passion, however, appealed to all segments of the population who are Christian, or had a Christian upbringing with only a very narrow (but vocal) segment of the population predisposed against it.

I do not necessarily agree that 9/11 will have no staying power, though, because it does give a view of the Bush presidency that is radically different than what normal people are accustomed -- it therefore has a novelty that taps into the "I have to see what all the stir is about" feeling of people.

Anyway, it is an interesting comparison because both films are non-traditional in their own ways and, in a way, their relative successes do serve as a sort of barometer of the popularity of the belief systems portrayed in each.

A.: The "rift with Disney" is pretty much a deception on the part of Moore, Disney told Moore a year ago they would not be releasing the film. He only made an issue of it a few weeks ago to help sell tickets. He already had a new distributor lined up well in advance of making the the "rift" public.

Bottom line: Moore and his pals had plenty of time to get F9/11 on as many screens as they thought would be best for making the most money. They chose to put it on fewer screens than a typical release. Why? There is really only one possible reason.

They did not think the film would do as well on 3000 screens - and they are savvy enough to know that by limiting the supply (the number of theaters, screens, showings) they would create the appearance of high demand (sold-out theaters, lines, etc) when in reality its weekend take was about average for a non-blockbuster in the summer.

The appearance of high demand becomes a marketing tool that gets people to go see the movie because the movie is "hot" and no one wants to miss out. It's called buzz.

What will really tell the tale is longevity. The Passion was still packing theaters more than a month after its release. It was in the top five for seven straight weeks, even returning to the #1 slot in week seven (raking in $15.2 million in tickets sold in its seventh weekend in release). It stayed in the top 10 for 13 consecutive weeks.

I'll make the following predictions: F9/11 will not be in the top five seven weeks from now, will not spend 13 weeks in the top 10, and won't gross a third of the $370 million that The Passion has already grossed domestically.

There is a market for Bush-bashing. But not nearly as large a market as that for the message of sacrifice and liberation portrayed so movingly by Mel Gibson's film.

It should be quite obvious that Michael Moore's latest pack of lies is nothing more than a vicious attack ad against President Bush. As such, it will probably be found in violation of the very "campaign-reform" laws the Dems were happy to pass recently. You know, the laws that say that groups like the NRA can't buy ads within so many days of an election? (Totally unconstitutional laws, BTW.)

But anyway, the NRA and others should simply come out with their own "documentaries" to get the word out to counter the deceptions of Moore et al!

bill,

contrary to what you may think, bush is not Jesus Christ and you are right, Fahrenheit 9/11 will not do as well as The Passion because it doesn't have to.

What does the rift with Disney have to do with it? 9-11 got a new distributor, and Lions Gate has released films to wide release before. Even if they did underestimate the audience, I doubt they did it by 3200 screens!

I never said nor do I believe that Bush is Jesus Christ. I was simply comparing the relative success of two films that targeted two entirely different markets. The Left-wing anti-Bush market supported F9/11 to an opening weekend of less than $30 million. The more conservative market for The Passion was, apparently, much much larger.

I take heart from that. I also take heart that the message of The Passion - sacrifice and liberation - was embraced by a large segment of America to the tune of $370 million in tickets sold.

Can anyone imagine an equivalent movie about, say, Clinton getting as much free press and industry support as Lumpy Riefenstahl's latest screed?

a.

"HICKS NIX DIRTYTRIX PIX!"

Hobbs is right. Moore's product is overrated by the Media's "Gee it made $22MM!"

TomCom

Who knew you get people to plunk down $6.00 (I live in a small town) to experience their deepest, darkest political fantasies? Moore did, and a vast untapped market of anger and contempt is now lining his pockets.

On the plus side it means fewer dollars that will end up with the Kerry campaign. Moore may feign the revolutionary idealist but a thorough hoodwinking is too much work to squander it on a political campaign.