Variety — ‘White Chicks’ likely to lick ‘Fahrenheit’
Courtesy Drudge ReportWill the flood of attention given to “Fahrenheit 9/11,” which Lions Gate and IFC Films will bow in 868 venues, translate into boffo B.O.? While Michael Moore’s pic has dominated headlines this week, it’s not the top dog going into the weekend box office race. Continuing the summer’s trend of midweek bows, Sony/Revolution’s “White Chicks” opened on Wednesday, taking in $4.2 million from 2,412 locations. Opening day results put pic, which stars Marlon and Shawn Wayans as undercover white girls, on a pace to dethrone Fox’s “DodgeBall” at the top of the box office chart this weekend.
Revolution partner Tom Sherak sees a tight race between the two laffers. “We should have a pretty good weekend,” he said. “It’s going to be close.”
Considering that both films are aimed at the same IQ demographic, dividing the take as it were, this is impressive indeed.
And sorry about the mental imagery from that headline. I just couldn’t resist.
UPDATE: My parents’ hometown paper, the Anniston (Alabama) Star, reports ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ not scheduled for showing here: “Local folks who want to see Michael Moore’s inflaming documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 will have to go elsewhere.” No word on whether “White Chicks” is playing, although I’m guessing Yes.
UPDATE (6/26): The early returns show Moore’s film easily beating “White Chicks” through Saturday.
UPDATE (6/27): YahooNews — ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ Tops $8M in First Day
“Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore’s assault on President Bush, took in $8.2 million to $8.4 million in its first day, positioning it as the weekend’s No. 1 film, its distributors said Saturday.
Based on Friday’s numbers, “Fahrenheit 9/11” was on track for an opening weekend that would surpass the $21.6 million total gross of Moore’s “Bowling for Columbine,” his 2002 film that earned him an Academy Award for best documentary. “Bowling for Columbine” holds the record for highest domestic gross among documentaries, excluding concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX theaters.
Friday grosses for “Fahrenheit 9/11” ran about $1.5 million ahead of its closest competitor, the Wayans brothers comedy “White Chicks.” The performance of “Fahrenheit 9/11” was even more remarkable considering it played in just 868 theaters, fewer than a third the number for “White Chicks.”
“Fahrenheit 9/11” benefited from a flurry of praise and condemnation. Supporters mobilized liberal-minded audiences to see it over opening weekend to counter efforts by some right-wing groups to discredit the film.
“It always helps when there’s a group out there that says, ‘Don’t go see this movie. It’s bad for you,’” said Jonathan Sehring, president of IFC Films, one of the film’s distributors.
No joke. Some incredibly bad movies, such as Last Temptation of Christ, has become modest hits by virtue of major controversy. Recently, Mel Gibson’s “Passion of the Christ” vastly exceeded all expectations, again helped significantly by the firestorm surrounding its release.
