2016-obama-america-shocks-film-industry-a-box-office-success-virtually-promotional-budget ( Archived) (3)

Conservative scholar Diniseh D'Souza's film has shocked industry prognosticators by earning an estimated $20 million to date, more than five times what the second-highest documentary this year, "Bully," earned.

While pundits and critics are divided over whether "2016: Obama's America" is a sobering documentary examining "the most mysterious U.S. president in modern history" or an 87-minute attack ad, there's no debating that the film is a box office phenomenon.

Taking a page from his own book "The Roots of Obama's Rage," conservative scholar Diniseh D'Souza's film has shocked industry prognosticators by earning an estimated $20 million to date, more than five times what the second-highest documentary this year, "Bully," earned. With virtually no promotional budget, the film has expanded in a little over a month from one theater in Houston to 1747 screens this weekend.

"People see the success and they think we have the marketing budget of 'Dark Knight Rises,' we probably don't even have the catering budget of the 'Dark Knight,'" co-director John Sullivan, who helped craft the promotional plan, told the News.

So they had to rely on the choir preaching to an even bigger choir. Sullivan says ahead of the film's mid-July opening at the Edward Houston Marq'E Stadium 23 & IMAX, local right-wing radio host Michael Berry championed the film with an all-out publicity blitz on his show.

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YAY, another Obama thread....