It turns out all you need for a successful documentary is a conservative message and Dinesh D’Souza. In the summer before the 2012 election, D’Souza released 2016: Obama’s America. While voters didn't heed the movie's warning judging by the election results, the film still enjoyed some serious box office success, earning $33.4 million. D'Souza has struck gold again with Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, which just became the top-grossing documentary of 2016, according to The Hollywood Reporter. In 12 days, it has already generated $5.2 million.
Timing is everything. D’Souza decided to release the film as the Republican and Democratic National Conventions were getting underway.
On the eve of the GOP gathering in Cleveland, Hillary's America took in $77,500 from five theaters in Texas for a stellar location average of $25,833. And last weekend — as the media's attention turned to the Democratic convention in Philadelphia, which kicked off Monday — the film expanded nationwide into a total of 1,217 theaters, grossing $4 million and coming in No. 10.
“The big criminals are still at large,” D’Souza says in the trailer, as he watches a Hillary Clinton press conference on TV from jail. “The system doesn’t go after them because they run the system.”
In addition to portraying Clinton as a criminal, Hillary’s America also uncovers the Democratic Party’s racist history that the film says stretched into the 20th century. D’Souza is also seen interviewing conservative pundits who define progressivism as social control with a dangerous reliance on Big Government.
“What if their plan is to steal America?” D’Souza asks.
Looking at the recent box office numbers, Americans are enamored with D’Souza’s message. This time, will those numbers be reflected in the election?
RELATED: D'Souza Explains 7 Things the Left Doesn’t Want You to Know About Their History