Anti-Obama documentary may gross $6 million this weekend

The anti-President Obama documentary “2016: Obama’s America,” is off to a strong start in its first weekend of national release and could gross more than $6 million between Friday and Sunday, placing it far ahead of the new horror movie “The Apparition” and in a virtual dead heat with the new action comedy “Hit & Run.”

Preliminary box office estimates show that “Obama’s America,” which is based on conservative author Dinesh D’Souza’s book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” and suggests the president is an anti-American socialist, could do as well as, or even better than, the premiere of “Premium Rush,” which is on track for an estimated weekend haul of $6.2 million. D’Souza also co-wrote and hosts the movie.

“We’re going to have a great weekend,” said Rod Rodgers, a partner in the independent film’s distributor, Rocky Mountain Pictures. “And there are still a lot of areas that are demanding the picture.”

The movie is performing strongly across the nation, but is doing solid business in cities presumed to be liberal strongholds, including Portland, Ore., and New York City.

“When we saw the Manhattan numbers come in last weekend, we thought we might have a big, big thing on our hands,” said John Sullivan, who wrote, co-directed and executive produced the $2.5-million production. “We initially built this release very slowly, and the word of mouth on this movie has been amazing.”

The documentary premiered in Houston seven weeks ago. Last weekend it was shown in 169 theaters and grossed a strong $1.24 million. The film is now showing in nearly 1,100 locations, and Rocky Mountain may add as many as 100 more theaters next weekend.

Sullivan, who also oversees the film’s marketing, has been promoting “Obama’s America” on talk radio, Fox News and an array of reality shows on cable networks, including the Discovery Channel and A & E.

In Southern California, it is playing at theaters including the AMC Universal Citywalk Stadium 19, the Edwards Long Beach Stadium 26, and the Regal La Habra 16.

To capitalize on the upcoming Republican National Convention in Tampa next week, “Obama’s America” will be showing four times a day in a theater across the street from the Tampa Bay Times Forum starting Tuesday.

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