23°c Partly cloudy
18°c Cloudy periods
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Anti-Obama doc a summer hit
U.S. President Barack Obama. (TRIBUNE MEDIA MCT)
LOS ANGELES -- Hollywood may have run out of summer hits, but an anti-Obama documentary is helping to fill the gap.
Holdover movies easily topped the weekend box office again, led by Sylvester Stallone's The Expendables 2 at No. 1 for the second-straight weekend with $13.5 million.
The weekend's new wide releases were overshadowed by 2016: Obama's America, which expanded from limited to nationwide release and took in $6.2 million to finish at No. 8.
The documentary is a harsh conservative critique of what the country would look like four years from now if President Barack Obama is re-elected.
Released by Rocky Mountain Pictures, Obama's America nearly matched the $6.3-million debut of the No. 7 movie, Joseph Gordon-Levitt's action tale Premium Rush, a Sony release that played in more than twice as many theatres as the Obama documentary.
The weekend's other new wide releases opened weakly. Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell's road-chase comedy Hit & Run, released by Open Road Films, debuted at No. 10 with $4.7 million, and the Warner Bros. fright flick The Apparition opened at No. 12 with $3 million.
The weak openings are typical of late August, a dumping ground for movies without much audience appeal as the summer blockbuster season winds down and young viewers switch to back-to-school mode.
But with less competition from Hollywood releases, it also opens the door for surprise successes.
"It's extremely rare for a documentary to break into the top 10, but August can be a land of opportunity for smaller films," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "Also, there's the fact that this is a very conservative film. Normally, it's Michael Moore-branded documentaries, the liberal documentaries that make all the money."
Obama's America opened in a handful of theatres in mid-July and did strong business as it gradually widened to more cities. It jumped into the top 10 this weekend as it expanded into 1,091 theatres, leading all other wide releases with an average of $5,717 a cinema.
That's a solid average, especially for a political documentary. But it pales next to the king of political documentaries, Moore's George W. Bush assault Fahrenheit 9-11, which opened at No. 1 with $23.9 million in June 2004, averaging $27,558 in 868 theatres. Fahrenheit 9-11 went on to become the top-grossing documentary ever with $119.1 million domestically.
Obama's America is based on the book The Roots of Obama's Rage, written by Dinesh D'Souza, who co-directed the movie with John Sullivan.
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 27, 2012 D2
More Movies
- Back to Top
- Return to Movies
More Movies
(1 of 30 articles for this week)
Hockey comedy 'Goon' named 2012's biggest English-language homegrown smash
12:50 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular Movies
- Inquiry looks at report Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, wife know unborn baby's gender
- Hockey comedy 'Goon' named 2012's biggest English-language homegrown smash
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Brad Pitt draws huge crowd at Times Square premiere for 'World War Z'
- Faster than speeding expectations...
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Open casting call for part of young boy in Winnipeg-shot film
- Film Review: 'Monsters University' isn't grade-A Pixar, but still easily passes
- MOVIES
- Monster for a Day
- One hero, hold the cheese
- Who knew the apocalypse could be so freakin' funny?
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Weisz relished powerful role in Oz
- Inquiry looks at report Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, wife know unborn baby's gender
- Monster for a Day
- Open casting call for part of young boy in Winnipeg-shot film
- Lack of punch does disservice to doc's powerful premise
- Top 10 lists
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Actor Michael Douglas says oral sex can cause throat cancer; his agent says 'not his' cancer
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- Locally shot 'Goon' wins Golden Box Office award
- One hero, hold the cheese
- Esther Williams, champion swimmer turned star of aquatic movie extravaganzas, dies at 91
- Wilson, Vaughn settle into a familiar algorithm in Internship
- Strings drama shooting in city this week
- Lack of punch does disservice to doc's powerful premise
- Hangover 3: No nausea, not much of a headache
- Duhamel shooting here, Strings attached
- Duhamel shooting here, Strings attached
- Cameras start rolling, stars roll into town for film-filled summer
- 'Lore' film shows Second World War through eyes of children of Nazi SS parents
- Long, lingering takes? Solitary weeping? And how!
- Director tells whole truth, nothing but truth
- 'Good Wife' star Baranski recalls falling in love with acting at Stratford, Ont.
- Locally shot 'Goon' wins Golden Box Office award
- Affectionate documentary sings praises of Pomus
- New documentary with Romeo Dallaire examines life of child soldiers
- 'Night of the Living Dead' goes live with tongue-in-cheek look at horror classic
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.