10. Fahrenheit 9/11
Like him or not, a Michael Moore documentary is usually bound to get a decent viewing audience. When he released Fahrenheit 9/11 in 2004, it got a massive amount of attention and quickly became the highest grossing documentary film ever.
And yet, despite making over $200 million worldwide on a measly budget of around $5 million, the film somehow managed to make little to no profit.
Despite a 50/50 split deal with the Weinstein brothers, who distributed the film through their studio, Moore had to sue them to get some of his unpaid royalties. As it turns out, some shady Hollywood accounting meant that all the money was somehow siphoned away in a paper trail of tax breaks, advertising costs, fees, ‘work’ expenses, and presumably Moore’s extensive collection of baseball caps.
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