Michael Moore promised his new anti-Trump movie, Fahrenheit 11/9, would bring down Trump… but, unfortunately, no one saw it.
Despite somewhat positive reviews from critics, Moore’s documentary brought in just $3.13 million dollars in its opening weekend, from 1,719 theaters.
That’s far below the initial estimates of $5 million to $8 million.
By contrast, Moore’s most successful outing—the anti-Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11—grossed $23 million in its opening weekend, and $222 million worldwide, making it the most lucrative documentary of all time.
The box office flop suggests that Moore’s brand of “investigating” may not be as potent in the era of Trump, where much of the mainstream media has unofficially declared themselves part of the “resistance.”
It could also suggest that, despite an enthusiastic left in the run-up to the November elections, far-left talking points like those Moore trades in are simply not popular outside of niche audience.
However, there’s some good news for Moore: Fahrenheit 11/9 at least did better than his previous anti-Trump movie, Michael Moore in TrumpLand, which grossed just $149,000 in 2016.