 Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 is the most successful documentary |
Low box office takings should be blamed on a lack of quality films and not piracy, director Michael Moore says. Figures released earlier this year showed US takings for films fell by six per cent in 2005.
But Moore, director of Fahrenheit 9/11, said that sell-outs at his Traverse City Film Festival showed that people still want to see good movies.
He said the decline was not down to the internet or piracy but "because the movies aren't very good anymore".
Picking up
The Motion Picture Association of America revealed in March that some 240 million fewer tickets were sold in 2005 than the previous year.
At the time, many studios blamed a rise in internet piracy, while cinemas raised concerns DVD sales were threatening their market.
However, statistics show that box office receipts have in fact risen this year compared to last.
Analysts say that although the summer did not start well for Hollywood, with blockbusters Poseidon and Mission: Impossible 3 not making their predicted profits, the situation was reversed with the release of X-Men: The Last Stand and The Da Vinci Code.
In all, 2006 US box office returns are five per cent higher than last year.
One-Minute World News 
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