Documentary the hottest ticket

Los Angeles — Michael Moore’s “Fahrenheit 9/11” took in a whopping $21.8 million in its first three days, becoming the first documentary ever to debut as Hollywood’s top weekend film.

If Sunday’s estimates hold when final numbers are released today, “Fahrenheit 9/11” would set a record in a single weekend as the top-grossing documentary ever outside of concert films and movies made for huge-screen IMAX theaters.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc.:

1. “Fahrenheit 9/11,” $21.8 million.

2. “White Chicks,” $19.6 million.

3. “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story,” $18.5 million.

4. “The Terminal,” $13.9 million.

5. “The Notebook,” $13 million.

6. “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban,” $11.4 million.

7. “Shrek 2,” $10.5 million.

8. “Garfield: The Movie,” $7 million.

9. “Two Brothers,” $6.2 million.

10. “The Stepford Wives,” $5.2 million.

Mermaids on parade

New York — Moby, Dick and a Lunachick celebrated a rite of summer in Brooklyn’s annual Mermaid Parade, joining about 1,500 people who marched along the Coney Island boardwalk, many in nautical dress.

Techno artist Moby and punk rocker Theo Kogan of the Lunachicks were crowned as King Neptune and Queen Mermaid at the 22nd annual event Saturday.

The parade is the creation of the tattooed and goateed Dick Zigun, who marched beneath a top hat. Mermaids were joined by walking cans of tuna, and several participants — including one in a gorilla costume — rode in a hearse.

The parade, in the shadow of the world-renowned Cyclone roller-coaster, is held each year on the first Saturday after the summer solstice. It was inspired by Mardi Gras festivals that Coney Island hosted in the first half of the 20th century.

Guitar sale sets record

New York — One of Eric Clapton’s prize guitars sold for a record $959,500 at an auction that raised more than $7.4 million for a drug treatment center.

“Blackie,” the black-and-white Fender Stratocaster that was Clapton’s sole stage and studio guitar from 1970 to 1985, was the most expensive ever sold at auction, Christie’s said in a statement. In 2002, a guitar belonging to Jerry Garcia sold for $957,500.

Proceeds will go to the Crossroads Centre in Antigua, an addiction treatment center Clapton established in 1998. Clapton overcame a heroin addiction years ago.

Bikinis draw throngs

Beaver, Pa. — Survivor winner Amber Brkich added a little heat to a local museum’s firefighting exhibit.

Brkich, the winner of “Survivor All-Stars,” donated bikinis she wore on the show for the display — and helped draw 200 people Saturday to an exhibit celebrating firefighters in her western Pennsylvania hometown.

“Those guys (firefighters) are the real survivors,” Brkich said. “They’re out in the community every day, and they deserve a lot of credit for the work they do.”