Top 10 Film Industry Stories of 2004: #2: Fahrenheit 9/11 Becomes Highest-Grossing Documentary
By Stephanie Star Smith
December 31, 2004
Everyone knew it would be big. It's just that no one imagined how big.
When it was announced that Michael Moore would be turning his camera on the actions of the Bush administration both before and in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, there was little doubt the film would be controversial. And given Moore's stated distaste for Dubya, it was a pretty safe bet the film would not be complimentary. Add in the fact that it was scheduled to be released in an election year - originally September of 2004 - and you add even more fuel to the fire.
But the film that Moore accurately called an op-ed piece rather than a documentary surprised everyone with just how big it was.
After parent company Disney forbade Miramax to release F9/11, as it became popularly known, Harvey Weinstein bought back the rights and arranged distribution with Lions Gate and IFC Films. In an attempt to mollify opponents somewhat, the film's release was pushed up to June, so as to diffuse the criticism that it was going to be used as propaganda in the upcoming elections.
The dust-up over distribution caused a sort of closing of ranks in Hollywood, with a slew of stars coming out in support of Moore and the film. When it debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May, it received an unprecedented standing ovation that lasted, according to some reports, a full 15 minutes. That the film went on to win the Palme d'Or surprised few observers.
What did surprise observers, however, was just how hungry the audience was to see this film.
Moore already held the title of highest-grossing documentary for his last film, Bowling for Columbine. Its box office receipts were impressive for a documentary, but it did have that qualifier.
Not so Fahrenheit 9/11. It opened to an impressive $23.9 million, making it not only the highest-grossing documentary, but the highest grossing film, that weekend. F9/11 held the number one spot at the box office for two weeks, before being toppled by Spider-Man 2. But surprisingly, F9/11 held its own even in the face of high-profile blockbuster competition, and went on to gross over $100 million, a figure still considered a benchmark of success for fiction films, and unheard of for a documentary.
But perhaps the most amazing thing about Fahrenheit 9/11, more amazing than its finding distribution, more amazing than winning the Palme d'Or, even more amazing than its incredible box office numbers, is the fact that a great many people actually went to see the film. Some liked it, some hated it; some thought it was too biased and dismissed its conclusions, others thought it raised some interesting points and some questions that needed answering. But people actually saw it, and what's more, they talked about it. And whether you're for or against Dubya, whether you think Michael Moore is a much-needed observer or a gadfly more interested in presenting his viewpoint than getting at the truth, having a film that people went to see, and then discussed, is a monumental event, election year or no. The incredible tale of Fahrenheit 9/11 is certainly one of the most amazing industry stories of 2004.
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