If Michael Moore’s “SiCKO,” now in its fourth week of release, continues to make as much money per screen as “Live Free or Die Hard,” why is it playing at only 756 theaters in the country? “Die Hard” is showing at 3,200 theaters.

To find an answer, I called Lionsgate films and The Weinstein Company, which are promoting and distributing Moore’s fiery healthcare documentary.

The first publicity guy from Lionsgate I spoke to acted like I was some dumb kid asking a dumb question. “Call your local theater,” he said. Then he said something like ‘Well you know, it’s a got small budget and it’s a niche movie.’ Not satisfied with his answer I asked if there was someone else I could speak to. He patched my call over to a woman in the publicity department who said, “Call this number and ask for Amber Jackson, who can get you in touch with Sarah Greenberg.”

I called the number and a guy’s cell phone picked up. The message was, “It’s me. Sorry if I don’t get back to you. Not trying to be rude.” I left a message, but was pretty sure that I’d hit a dead end. I finally found a contact number to call The Weinstein Company. The receptionist was polite and helpful and I left a message for someone named Sarah to call me back.

A few minutes later I called again to give The Weinstein Company another telephone number where they could reach me. Sarah answered the phone this time. She was polite and friendly and asked me what I wanted to know. I told her I wondered why “SiCKO” is making lots of money but not showing in very many theaters?

She paused and said in a seemingly grave tone, “You’ll have to ask our corporate communications department that question. I’ll have them give you a call.” It’s past lunch and I haven’t heard from them yet.

Is big business putting the squash on “SiCKO?” It looks much less threatening, and it’s much less of a story, when it stays lodged at number nine at the box office instead of hovering near the top three slot of the box office like “Live Free or Die Hard” has been doing.

If I remember correctly, “Fahrenheit 9/11,” Moore’s hugely successful documentary about the federal government’s response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, got a much wider release, made much more money and had a greater cultural impact.

In the three weeks it’s has been showing in theaters, “SiCKO” has earned $15.8 million, while “Live Free or Die Hard,” in release for the same length of time, pulled in $103 million, according to boxofficemojo.com. Let’s hope “SiCKO” starts playing at more theaters throughout the country, which is what should be happening.