I did my own analysis. You have to go back to 2/20/04 to find the number one movie on a Friday pulling in less than $8,200,000.
Most movies are wide releases. When was the last time a movie released on less than 1000 theatres made this kind of money? What I am saying is, lets stop the denial. This movie is immensely popular with some people, and it will break records for documentaries and other limited release movies.