‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ has sold a lot of tickets for a “documentary:”
Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” made Hollywood history by selling $21.8 million worth of tickets in its first three days, becoming the only documentary ever to outgun all other blockbuster films at the nation’s box offices in one weekend.
But how popular does that really make it? Not all that much, if we’re talking about “blockbusters”:
By comparison, “The Passion of the Christ” earned $117.5 million in its first five days.
This seems an apt comparison, for Fahrenheit is a documentary like Passion is a historical drama. I suspect the audiences are fairly similar, though: people who place little stock by reason and evidence, have no use for science, and spend most of their lives fearing the dark forces.
one definition:
” A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration.”
if you’ve ever seen Ken Burn’s “Lewis and Clarke” or like documentaries, then you’d note that it’s not just fact that Stephen Ambrose and Dayton Duncan present, but their opinions about those facts as well.
Moore does the same in Fahrenheit 9/11…not in Bowling for Columbine. In F9/11, it’s very clear to anyone who sees it that he made great effort to point out what is his opinion and what he presents as fact.
p.s. I also don’t think anyone is calling F9/11 a “blockbuster”.
John did, on this very blog.