Bill Maher’s Religulous beat the inane Creationist doc, Expelled, to deliver the best debut for documentaries this year. From All These Wonderful Things:
According to studio estimates, Larry Charles’ RELIGULOUS will become the top nonfiction debut of 2008, making 3.5 million dollars over the weekend. The Bill Maher anti-religion film tops the previous champ – the pro-creationist EXPELLED: NO INTELLIGENCE ALLOWED – by $500K and, if estimates hold, RELIGULOUS will be the first doc of the year to have more than one million dollar day (it’s currently projected to have three).
It’s sort of ironic and perhaps a sign of the times. No, it really isn’t. Maher has a lot more fans than Ben Stein for starters.¬† An those inclined to see a documentary in the first place aren’t standing in line to hear theories on Intelligent Design. While it wasn’t gleefully savaged the way Expelled was, Religulous didn’t quite get the kinds of reviews it needed. It will still make its point and its money.