President Bush conquered the box office on Friday, with a little help from Michael Moore, as the controversial documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 opened at number one with an estimated $8.1M in its first day of nationwide release. Playing in only 868 theaters, the Lions Gate/IFC Films release averaged an astonishing $9,378 per location in just one day. Fahrenheit blasted past all industry expectations going into the weekend as media hype surrounding the R-rated film sparked immense interest among moviegoers. For the weekend, the anti-Bush doc could gross $21-24M.

Opening in second place on Friday was the Wayans brothers film White Chicks with an estimated $6.7M in its third day of release. For the three day period, the Sony title should take in $18-20M giving the PG-13 film a five-day total of $26-27M.

New Line bowed its romance pic The Notebook on Friday and embraced an estimated $5.3M. A weekend take of $14-15M seems likely. Universal's tiger tale Two Brothers captured an estimated $2M on its opening day and should finish the frame with $6-7M.

Among holdovers, Friday-to-Friday declines were 45% for Dodgeball, 35% for The Terminal, and 35% for Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

For a review of Fahrenheit 9/11, visit The Chief Report.

Last Updated: June 26, 2004 at 1:45PM EST

Written by Gitesh Pandya