Reuters.com: Weekend Movies: Make Way for Spidey

Entertainment News Article | Reuters.com: "Hollywood's major movie studios ceded the weekend box office sweepstakes to "Spider-Man 2," leaving only a handful of independent films debuting on Friday and prior releases to compete against it. A more intriguing question for box office watchers is how 'Fahrenheit 9/11,' director Michael Moore's controversial movie that bashes the Bush White House and questions the war in Iraq, will play in its second week.
'FAHRENHEIT' RISING
Distributors Lions Gate Films and IFC Films double the theaters to 1725 on Friday from 868 last weekend when it earned $23.9 million in three days -- more than Moore's Oscar winner 'Bowling for Columbine' did in its entire 2002 run.
'No longer is it controversial ... it's now a pop culture phenomenon,' said Lions Gate Films President Tom Ortenberg.
Typically a documentary opens in a few theaters and builds its audience over time like recent hit 'Super Size Me.' But 'Fahrenheit 9/11' could play like a major feature film that opens big at box offices then drops rapidly after a few weeks."


By Bob Tourtellotte