As Michael Moore's documentary Sicko embarks on its national release, the LA Times' John Horn reveals what Moore will actually earn from the documentary--and the numbers are staggering.

Moore's agent, Ari Emanuel at Endeavor, negotiated one hell of a deal with the Weinstein Co. for his client. Moore is in line to receive 50 percent of Sicko's gross profits (that's after the theater owner collect their take of ticket sales), arguably one of Hollywood's most lucrative deals for a filmmaker. To put it in perspective, it's well beyond the cut that Tom Cruise used to receive in his heyday on films (and big-name actor deals are usually much richer than directors, but Moore obviously works both in front and behind the camera).

But the place where Moore's deal is most noteworthy is in his DVD take. A-list actors and directors usually get a small slice of the proceeds, which is taken from only 20 percent of the total DVD revenue (the studio would hold back the other 80 percent). These numbers have pretty much been sacrosanct in Hollywood for years and have allowed the studios to recoup any theatrical losses with their homevid take. But in Moore's deal, he'll be receiving 50 percent of all DVD revenues.

Sicko doesn't look like it will bring in blockbuster numbers (it's currently on course to make $9-12 million this weekend as it expands it plaftform release to 441 theaters). But Moore is the biggest name in documentary film, with his Fahrenheit 9/11 making an unprecendented $222 million worldwide theatrically (and that's not counting DVD revenue). Even if Sicko takes a quarter of that amount, Moore stands to make a mint. And he says that money buys him freedom to never have to compromise with his message. "Nothing can ever be held over my head in the sense of, 'If you don't do this, we won't give you your money!'" he explained.

[Credit: SICKO, Michael Moore, 2007. Lions Gate/Courtesy Everett Collection.]