Well, the date is up for debate!
The film was actually first shown in the US at the Telluride film festival, on September 3, right after Venice.
I'll admit the NYC 'premiere' was 12/6/05, but that was for the stars and the press. That's where the cast were all photographed. Probably an invitation-only event.
The 'opening', however, was on Friday, 12/9/05, when the public was invited, at least in NYC, LA and SF. To me, that's when 'Brokies' were born!
IMDb considers the 'release' date to be 12/16/05, when it was released wider. That's when I became a Brokie!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/releaseinfo