Sicko Feeling Better After Weekend in NYC

Variety's Ian Mohr reports this morning that Sicko sold out all of its screenings in its one-screen opening this past weekend in New York, earning $70,000 at the Loews Lincoln Square. Its Saturday night sneak previews around the country fared just as well, with standing-room-only screenings in 43 cities nationwide. Reeler spies at the theater Friday and Saturday corroborate the madhouse feel of the event, with a mob left stranded on Broadway and scalpers doing brisk business with those who just couldn't wait that extra seven days to pay face value. Things got crazier once Moore himself arrived Friday night, cajoling attendees to spread the word-of-mouth for this week's nationwide opening, which the Weinstein Company told Mohr will bow in as many as 400 locations.

Meanwhile, the paper also features the latest on those World Trade Center rescue workers who joined Moore on a trip to seek medical treatment in Cuba. Sam Thielman writes that the Treasury Department is actually considering censure action against William Maher, John Graham and Reggie Cervantes, and could even prosecute the trio for traveling to Cuba without a license (receiving treatment is forbidden even with the license). Lawyer Martin Garbus said the three invite the lawsuit, for which I'm sure Moore has established a placeholder among Sicko's DVD extras.

Posted at June 25, 2007 8:50 AM