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FAHRENHEIT RISING

According to a new poll released today and disseminated by MoveOn PAC, “viewership of Fahrenheit 9/11 continues to grow with 11 percent of all voters now reporting they have seen Michael Moore’s film. This is nearly double the number of viewers since the July 4th weekend, when 6 percent reported having seen the movie.

“An additional 33 percent [reportedly] intend to see Fahrenheit 9/11, which means that 44 percent of all voters in the 2004 Presidential election could be exposed to the film.

“Movie-goers and intended movie-goers represent a broad and diverse slice of the electorate and spread across the country, including the so-called battleground states. Fully 1/3 of voters who have seen or intend to see the film self-identify as Bush voters. Forty percent of movie viewers and potential movie viewers reside in battleground states, 25 percent in the ‘red’ states and 33 percent in the ‘blue.’

“The poll, conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research, captured data from 1000 likely voters fielded between July 10- July 13, with a margin of error of +/- 3 points.”

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 71 percent of eligible voters registered to vote in the 2000 election, but only 86 percent of those who registered actually cast ballots — i.e. 60 percent or 111 million eligible voters.

If the MoveOnPAC press release is accurate, close to 20 million voters have already seen Fahrenheit 9/11.

The film had grossed just over $80 million as of last weekend — so this would represent an average ticket price of only $4.00. Given that ticket price in most major cities is closer to $10, Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research’s numbers may be slightly… elevated.

If the numbers are correct, however, and 2/5 of the 33 percent of eligible voters who have indicated they intend to see the film actually do so, Fahrenheit 9/11 stands to gross something like $220-$250 million in the U.S. alone.

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