Moore-Friendly Cities to Get Sneak Peak at "Sicko"

The Weinstein Co., in a move they claim is unrelated the pirating of Michael Moore's Sicko over the Internet, is releasing the movie in select cities this week. Gary Faber, Weinstein's executive vice president in charge of marketing, claimed the decision was meant solely to appease growing demand for the film. The early release will be concentrated on areas that have traditionally been friendly to Moore in the past, like Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and New York. The reviews that will probably attend the New York release will undoubtedly boost the movie's profile, though it's not as if that's necessary at this point. Two New York tabloids have already had a go at the film: the New York Post, predictably, dismissed it as a "botched operation", while The Daily News pronounced it "boffo". The movie is expected to do well in areas that have been receptive to Moore, but company executives predict that, overall, it will end up performing more along the lines of Bowling for Columbine ($21.6 million) than Fahrenheit 9/11 ($119.2 million).