'2016: Obama's America' Expands Into More Theaters Amid Accuracy Issues

Anti-Obama Film Adds More Theaters
President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign stop at the Alliant Energy Amphitheater, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, in Dubuque, Iowa. The president is on a three-day campaign bus tour through the state. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)
President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign stop at the Alliant Energy Amphitheater, Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2012, in Dubuque, Iowa. The president is on a three-day campaign bus tour through the state. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

The anti-Obama documentary that roiled the box office this past weekend continues to reach a wider audience. TheWrap reports "2016: Obama's America" will add over 700 theaters for a total of 1,800 on Friday. The expansion will target the Heartland but also New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Austin and Portland.

Rocky Mountain Pictures is probably hoping that continued press coverage and the Republican National Convention will grow interest in the film. The RNC is taking place this week in Tampa Bay, Florida.

"Obama's America" stunned observers this past weekend when it dialed in more earnings than any new film in the nation on Friday. Though it now appears to be nearly tied with Sony's "Premium Rush" for that crown, it's an impressive showing for a film that cost very little to produce. Box Office Mojo currently has the anti-Obama project at $6.5 million for the weekend, $500,000 more than 'Rush." The third highest-grossing new film in the mix was Warner Bros.' "The Apparition," which failed to reach $3 million.

This is the second time the documentary has expanded its reach. The movie was granted a nationwide release after it became the second biggest documentary of the year (it was behind "Bully" at the time) while still in limited release.

Author Dinesh D'Souza co-directed the film. Gerald Molen produced. Molen is a Hollywood veteran who produced "Jurassic Park" and "Schindler's List," and he defended the project as "fair and truthful" in a recent interview.

The Associated Press fact-checked the film, which attempts to trace the roots of Obama's ideology. The newswire service found a number of errors or claims that are not made in good faith. Here are three notable examples:

D'Souza says Obama is "weirdly sympathetic to Muslim jihadists" in Afghanistan and Pakistan. He does not mention that Obama ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden and the drone strikes that have killed dozens of terrorists in the region.

D'Souza wrongly claims that Obama wants to return control of the Falkland Islands from Britain to Argentina. The U.S. refused in April to endorse a final declaration on Argentina's claim to the islands at the Summit of the Americas, provoking criticism from other Latin American nations.

D'Souza says Obama has "done nothing" to impede Iran's nuclear ambitions, despite the severe trade and economic sanctions his administration has imposed on Iran to halt its suspected nuclear program. Obama opposes a near-term military strike on Iran, either by the U.S. or Israel, although he says the U.S. will never tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran.

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