Burning Bush

Any lingering doubts you may have had about the box office benefits of controversy should disappear with the news that Fahrenheit 9/11 ruled the US box office this weekend. With an estimated take of $21.8 million, Fahrenheit 9/11 has already out-grossed Bowling For Columbine to become the highest grossing documentary ever, excluding concert and Imax films. It is also the best ever opening for a Palme d'Or winner, smashing Pulp Fiction's $9.3million opening record, the best opening for a film on less than 1,000 screens, beating Rocky III, and the first film to go to number one on less than 1,000 screens since Four Weddings and a Funeral ten years ago. It is even playing well in Republican areas, as everyone turns out to see what all the fuss is about and liberal websites organise mass cinema trips