NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Charities could be among the biggest winners from the box-office success of the anti-Bush documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11," according to a published report.
The Wall Street Journal reported that about 60 percent of the net profit ultimately generated by the film could go to charities yet to be identified by Walt Disney Co. (DIS: Research, Estimates)
The movie by liberal filmmaker Michael Moore had been financed by Disney unit Miramax, but the media conglomerate declined to release the picture, which is critical of the Bush administration and its efforts against terrorism, saying it did not want to take such a partisan position during an election year. So Disney sold the distribution rights back to Miramax's chiefs, brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
The Journal reported that under terms of the agreement to sell the film rights, the Weinsteins could get roughly the same 40 percent of the profits that they would have received if it had stayed with Miramax. The other 60 percent will go to Disney, and the conglomerate stated earlier that it would donate any profits it sees to charities.
The film has been a box-office success, setting a record for the best U.S. ticket sales by a documentary in its first weekend in theaters. It is also the first documentary to be the top movie at U.S. theaters as it took in $21.8 in its first three days.
The Journal estimates that the film will eventually produce tens of millions of dollars of profits for charities. Disney told the paper that no charities had yet been identified for donations.
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