The two most unlikely movie blockbusters of 2004 were also the two films that most polarized audiences in the U.S. election year.

Self-proclaimed everyman director Michael Moore’s anti-President Bush documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 became the most successful theatrical doc of all time. Following the film’s Palme D’Or screening at the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto-based Lions Gate Films entered into a partnership with Miramax’s Bob and Harvey Weinstein to distribute the film in the U.S. in the summer. Total box office in the U.S. and Canada is US$119 million.

Alliance Atlantis won Canadian rights, ultimately garnering the distrib more than $18 million at the domestic till, and AA says that the film has sold nearly 300,000 units (DVD and VHS) in the home-video market.

Meanwhile, Mel Gibson’s hyper-realistic portrayal of Jesus’ last hours, The Passion of the Christ, took in a phenomenal $370 million at the box office in the U.S. and Canada. The film was accused early on of anti-Semitism, but the controversy only raised filmgoers’ curiosity, and church organizations made massive group bookings.

In Canada, upstart distrib Equinoxe Films scooped the rights and saw the film take in more than $23 million at the box office. According to Equinoxe, the film has sold more than one million home-video units in Canada.