LEWISTON – High-schooler Jeff Beam and his girlfriend had planned to go to the Flagship Cinema this weekend to see “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Michael Moore’s George Bush-bashing documentary that depicts the president’s march to war in Iraq.

Beam, 16, a junior at Leavitt Area High School in Turner, was disappointed Friday to learn the movie isn’t playing in Lewiston-Auburn. “I’ll have to go to Portland to see it,” he said.

“It’s too bad it’s not playing here, because there’s a lot of people who would like to see it,” he said, noting his parents and friends also want to see the flick. “Michael Moore is a funny man,” said Beam. “I’d like to see how Moore displays his views.”

Beam has lots of company.

Even though 9/11′ is a major motion picture, it is being shown primarily in independent theaters. Now, it’s only playing at three Maine theaters: The Movies in Portland, Evening Star Theater in Brunswick and Railroad Square Cinema in Waterville.

At each of those theaters, demand for tickets was high Friday. A midnight showing in Portland sold out, the answering machine said. Theater staffs that could be reached – often calls didn’t go through – said they expected their Friday shows to be sold out.

Alan Sanborn, manager at Railroad Square Theater in Waterville, said his phone was ringing “constantly” with people looking for tickets. “We’ve gotten more phone calls on this than any other film we’ve ever shown. This is really unprecedented,” Sanborn said.

“This movie is a hot potato,” he noted, predicting the weekend “is going to be a zoo.” Sanborn plans on showing the movie through July 9 and bringing it back after July 19.

Elaine Riendeau of Casablanca Cinema 4 in Bethel said she’d like to show 9/11,’ but the movie isn’t available. She plans to show the movie when she can get it, “but it will take some time.”

A phone message at Brunswick’s Evening Star Cinema said advance tickets would go on sale at 1 p.m.

In Portland advance tickets were being sold at 11:45 a.m. Saturday for the five showings. Movie goers were advised to arrive early. “It’s incredibly busy,” a movie worker said Friday.

Maine native Chris Lehane, now a San Francisco political consultant hired by Moore to handle the national opening of the movie, reassured Mainers that eventually everyone who wants to see the movie will be able to.

“Despite the efforts of some who oppose people seeing Fahrenheit 9/11,’ everyone will get a chance to see this film,” Lehane said Friday.

At Northeast Cinema in Auburn (formerly Hoyts), manager Wayne St. Germain said customers have been calling to see if the movie would be shown, and the calls increased Friday.

“I’ve only been here an hour and I think we’ve had six or seven calls,” said St. Germain.

A Flagship Cinema corporate spokeswoman said although the movie isn’t being shown at Flagship in Lewiston this weekend, it could be in the future. “But I couldn’t give you an answer today” on when, Anne McLaughlin said from her Lynnfield, Mass., office.

“We do show independent movies like this depending on availability,” McLaughlin said, adding that high consumer demand typically triggers such showings.