Market Charts > 2004 > Sources > Based on Real Life Events

Box Office Performance for Based on Real Life Events Movies in 2004

← 2003 Summary for all Years 2005 →
RankMovieRelease
Date		 GenreMPAA
Rating		2004 GrossTickets Sold
1 Fahrenheit 9/11 Jun 23, 2004 Documentary R $119,114,517 19,181,081
2 The Terminal Jun 18, 2004 Drama PG-13 $77,073,959 12,411,265
3 Ray Oct 29, 2004 Drama PG-13 $71,611,065 11,531,572
4 Miracle Feb 6, 2004 Drama PG $64,378,093 10,366,842
5 Monster Jan 30, 2004 Drama R $34,013,362 5,477,191
6 Alexander Nov 24, 2004 Action R $34,000,304 5,475,089
7 The Aviator Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $31,541,390 5,079,128
8 Open Water Aug 6, 2004 Horror R $30,500,882 4,911,575
9 Calendar Girls Dec 19, 2003 Comedy PG-13 $24,058,422 3,874,142
10 The Alamo Apr 9, 2004 Western PG-13 $22,406,362 3,608,109
11 NASCAR: The IMAX Experience Mar 12, 2004 Documentary PG $19,558,397 3,149,500
12 The Motorcycle Diaries Sep 24, 2004 Drama R $15,724,900 2,532,190
13 Super Size Me May 7, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $11,529,368 1,856,580
14 What the #$'! Do We Know Feb 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $10,091,903 1,625,105
15 Space Station Apr 19, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $9,598,551 1,545,660
16 Bugs! (IMAX) Mar 14, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $9,528,407 1,534,365
17 Adrenaline Rush: The Scienc… Oct 18, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $8,909,046 1,434,628
18 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey Oct 11, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $7,760,025 1,249,601
19 To Be and To Have Sep 17, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $7,065,318 1,137,732
20 Kinsey Nov 12, 2004 Drama R $6,734,321 1,084,431
21 Against the Ropes Feb 20, 2004 Drama PG-13 $5,881,504 947,102
22 Touching the Void Jan 23, 2004 Documentary R $4,593,598 739,709
23 The Fog of War Dec 19, 2003 Documentary PG-13 $3,922,139 631,584
24 The Corporation Jan 17, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $3,493,516 562,562
25 Control Room May 21, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,589,616 417,007
26 My Architect Nov 14, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $2,382,942 383,726
27 Riding Giants Jul 9, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $2,276,368 366,564
28 Beyond the Sea Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $1,917,756 308,817
29 Therese Oct 1, 2004 Drama PG $1,775,292 285,876
30 Ghosts of the Abyss Apr 11, 2003 Documentary G $1,322,679 212,991
31 Metallica: Some Kind of Mon… Jul 9, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $1,222,708 196,893
32 Festival Express Jul 23, 2004 Concert/Perfor… R $1,174,079 189,062
33 Saints and Soldiers Aug 6, 2004 Drama PG-13 $1,141,221 183,771
34 Fade to Black Nov 5, 2004 Documentary R $728,802 117,359
35 Going Upriver: The Long War… Oct 1, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $613,252 98,752
36 Radio Oct 24, 2003 Drama PG $532,172 85,695
37 Tarnation Oct 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $478,112 76,990
38 The Last Shot Sep 24, 2004 Comedy R $463,730 74,674
39 Hotel Rwanda Dec 22, 2004 Drama PG-13 $426,803 68,728
40 Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's… Aug 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $405,900 65,362
41 Still, We Believe: The Bost… May 7, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $396,803 63,897
42 End of the Century: The Sto… Aug 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $391,950 63,115
43 Broadway: The Golden Age, b… Jun 11, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $341,493 54,990
44 Callas Forever Nov 5, 2004 Drama Not Rated $330,760 53,262
45 America's Heart and Soul Jul 2, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $314,000 50,563
46 Bukowski: Born Into This May 28, 2004 Documentary R $311,431 50,149
47 Mayor of the Sunset Strip Mar 26, 2004 Documentary R $257,315 41,435
48 This Old Cub Mar 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $253,531 40,826
49 The Agronomist Apr 23, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $226,189 36,423
50 Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion Sep 19, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $202,592 32,623
51 Imelda Jun 11, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $200,992 32,365
52 The Yes Men Sep 24, 2004 Documentary R $198,975 32,041
53 Guiana 1838 Sep 24, 2004 Drama Not Rated $192,900 31,062
54 Uncovered: The Whole Truth … Aug 13, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $190,424 30,664
55 Lost Boys of Sudan Feb 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $182,839 29,442
56 Bush's Brain Aug 20, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $176,610 28,439
57 De fem benspaend May 28, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $150,966 24,310
58 Mar adentro Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $142,474 22,942
59 Lightning in a Bottle Oct 22, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $136,367 21,959
60 Dig Oct 1, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $127,067 20,461
61 Howard Zinn Jun 18, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $116,230 18,716
62 In the Face of Evil Oct 1, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $110,577 17,806
63 Shattered Glass Oct 31, 2003 Drama PG-13 $102,951 16,578
64 Yves St. Laurent Jan 7, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $97,092 15,634
65 Carlos Castaneda: Enigma of… Mar 5, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $94,848 15,273
66 Aileen: Life and Death of a… Jan 9, 2004 Documentary R $85,992 13,847
67 Encounter in the Third Dime… Feb 26, 1999 Documentary Not Rated $78,181 12,589
68 Word Wars May 28, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $76,481 12,315
69 Yossi & Jagger Sep 24, 2003 Drama R $75,378 12,138
70 Guerrilla: The Taking of Pa… Nov 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $72,933 11,744
71 In the Realms of the Unreal Dec 24, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $70,465 11,347
72 Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh… Oct 22, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $69,084 11,124
73 The Weather Underground Jun 6, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $63,755 10,266
74 Bright Leaves Aug 27, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $62,474 10,060
75 Proteus Aug 5, 2005 Documentary R $62,031 9,988
76 Voices of Iraq Oct 29, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $57,102 9,195
77 Divan Mar 19, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $56,214 9,052
78 The Assassination of Richar… Dec 29, 2004 Drama R $55,255 8,897
79 Born Into Brothels: Calcutt… Dec 8, 2004 Documentary R $55,045 8,863
80 Hiding and Seeking Feb 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $51,091 8,227
81 Ônibus 174 Oct 8, 2003 Documentary R $48,818 7,861
82 This So-Called Disaster Apr 21, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $45,195 7,277
83 Paper Clips Nov 24, 2004 Documentary G $42,311 6,813
84 Tom Dowd and the Language o… Aug 13, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $40,238 6,479
85 Power Trip Mar 12, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $38,593 6,214
86 Tying the Knot Oct 1, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $37,464 6,032
87 Incident at Loch Ness Sep 17, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $36,830 5,930
88 Beyond the Gates of Splendor Nov 5, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $36,412 5,863
89 L.O.C. (Kargil) Dec 25, 2003 Drama Not Rated $33,125 5,334
90 Emerald Cowboy Sep 19, 2003 Drama R $28,048 4,516
91 Bonhoeffer Jun 20, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $24,944 4,016
92 WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception Dec 3, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $21,843 3,517
93 S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death… May 19, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $21,678 3,490
94 Orwell Rolls in His Grave Jul 23, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $19,257 3,100
95 People Say I'm Crazy Apr 30, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $15,679 2,524
96 Crutch Sep 17, 2004 Drama Not Rated $14,189 2,284
97 A Letter to True Sep 8, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $13,835 2,227
98 Party Monster Aug 29, 2003 Comedy R $11,511 1,853
99 Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme Jul 16, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $11,255 1,812
100 Let's Get Frank Jul 14, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $9,386 1,511
101 Girlhood Oct 31, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $8,935 1,438
102 I'll Sing for You Mar 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $8,798 1,416
103 With All Deliberate Speed May 14, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $4,920 792
104 Saints and Sinners Jun 18, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $3,826 616
105 Brothers in Arms Aug 27, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $3,270 526
106 Venus Boyz Aug 22, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $3,230 520
107 The Life and Times of Allen… Aug 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,668 429
108 Moog Sep 24, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,227 358
109 Still, the Children are Here Nov 5, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,210 355
110 Rivers and Tides Jun 28, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $2,039 328
111 Shwaas Dec 10, 2004 Drama Not Rated $1,042 167
112 Jesus, You Know Dec 3, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $604 97
113 The Hillside Strangler Sep 24, 2004 Horror R $306 49
Total Gross of All Movies$659,374,324
Total Tickets Sold106,179,381

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 2004. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 2004. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 2010 will most likely earn money in 2010 and 2011. Click on the individual movie to see its total gross over all the years in which it played.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based ticket sale estimates, and may not be precise due to rounding errors.

Our Theatrical Market pages are based on the Domestic Theatrical Market performance only. The Domestic Market is defined as the North American movie territory (consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam).

The yearly amounts on our Theatrical Market pages are based on box office years. Each box office year starts on the first Monday of the year, so the previous year ends on the Sunday before the first Monday. For example, the "2017 box office year" started on January 2, 2017 so the "2016 box office year" ended on Sunday, January 1, 2017.