Box Office Performance for Documentary Movies in 2009
| Rank | Movie | Genre | MPAA | 2009 Gross | Tickets Sold | Inflation- Adjusted Gross |
| 1 |
Michael Jackson's This Is It
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$34,442,926 |
4,797,065 |
$34,442,927 |
| 2 |
earth
|
Documentary
|
G
|
$32,011,576 |
4,458,437 |
$32,011,578 |
| 3 |
Under the Sea 3-D
|
Documentary
|
G
|
$18,359,551 |
2,557,041 |
$18,359,554 |
| 4 |
Capitalism: A Love Story
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$13,664,911 |
1,903,191 |
$13,664,911 |
| 5 |
Magnificent Desolation
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$13,024,828 |
1,814,043 |
$13,024,829 |
| 6 |
Deep Sea 3-D
|
Documentary
|
G
|
$5,311,052 |
739,701 |
$5,311,053 |
| 7 |
Food, Inc.
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$4,410,116 |
614,222 |
$4,410,114 |
| 8 |
The September Issue
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$3,590,087 |
500,012 |
$3,590,086 |
| 9 |
Good Hair
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$3,453,044 |
480,925 |
$3,453,042 |
| 10 |
Space Station
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$2,744,388 |
382,227 |
$2,744,390 |
| 11 |
Waltz with Bashir
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$2,062,835 |
287,303 |
$2,062,836 |
| 12 |
Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$2,060,129 |
286,926 |
$2,060,129 |
| 13 |
Dolphins and Whales Tribes of the Ocean 3D
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$1,899,893 |
264,609 |
$1,899,893 |
| 14 |
Valentino: The Last Emperor
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$1,755,134 |
244,448 |
$1,755,137 |
| 15 |
Every Little Step
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$1,724,351 |
240,160 |
$1,724,349 |
| 16 |
It Might Get Loud
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$1,523,776 |
212,225 |
$1,523,776 |
| 17 |
X Games 3D: The Movie
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$1,388,840 |
193,432 |
$1,388,842 |
| 18 |
Tyson
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$887,918 |
123,665 |
$887,915 |
| 19 |
The Cove
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$850,886 |
118,508 |
$850,887 |
| 20 |
More Than a Game
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$829,412 |
115,517 |
$829,412 |
| 21 |
The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$741,557 |
103,281 |
$741,558 |
| 22 |
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$667,911 |
93,024 |
$667,912 |
| 23 |
Roving Mars
|
Documentary
|
G
|
$545,961 |
76,039 |
$545,960 |
| 24 |
Enlighten Up!
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$213,423 |
29,725 |
$213,426 |
| 25 |
Soul Power
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$205,556 |
28,629 |
$205,556 |
| 26 |
Harvard Beats Yale
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$204,458 |
28,476 |
$204,458 |
| 27 |
The Beaches of Agnes
|
Documentary
|
|
$197,888 |
27,561 |
$197,888 |
| 28 |
Herb & Dorothy
|
Documentary
|
|
$194,721 |
27,120 |
$194,722 |
| 29 |
Fuel
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$167,743 |
23,363 |
$167,746 |
| 30 |
Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$155,017 |
21,590 |
$155,016 |
| 31 |
Crude
|
Documentary
|
|
$125,105 |
17,424 |
$125,104 |
| 32 |
Examined Life
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$120,712 |
16,812 |
$120,710 |
| 33 |
Throw Down Your Heart
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$115,437 |
16,078 |
$115,440 |
| 34 |
Ballerina
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$114,507 |
15,948 |
$114,507 |
| 35 |
Art & Copy
|
Documentary
|
|
$110,524 |
15,393 |
$110,522 |
| 36 |
Afghan Star
|
Documentary
|
|
$102,115 |
14,222 |
$102,114 |
| 37 |
No Impact Man
|
Documentary
|
|
$91,169 |
12,698 |
$91,172 |
| 38 |
The Way We Get By
|
Documentary
|
|
$83,490 |
11,628 |
$83,489 |
| 39 |
Horse Boy, The
|
Documentary
|
|
$81,837 |
11,398 |
$81,838 |
| 40 |
The Yes Men Fix the World
|
Documentary
|
|
$80,970 |
11,277 |
$80,969 |
| 41 |
In a Dream
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$55,270 |
7,698 |
$55,272 |
| 42 |
Dalai Lama Renaissance
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$38,504 |
5,363 |
$38,506 |
| 43 |
We Live in Public
|
Documentary
|
|
$36,746 |
5,118 |
$36,747 |
| 44 |
American Casino
|
Documentary
|
|
$35,155 |
4,896 |
$35,153 |
| 45 |
Our City Dreams
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$34,972 |
4,871 |
$34,974 |
| 46 |
Trouble the Water
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$33,569 |
4,675 |
$33,567 |
| 47 |
Of Time and the City
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$32,551 |
4,534 |
$32,554 |
| 48 |
American Swing
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$30,156 |
4,200 |
$30,156 |
| 49 |
The Betrayal
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$29,522 |
4,112 |
$29,524 |
| 50 |
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$27,100 |
3,774 |
$27,097 |
| 51 |
Guest of Cindy Sherman
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$27,052 |
3,768 |
$27,054 |
| 52 |
The Garden
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$26,931 |
3,751 |
$26,932 |
| 53 |
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$25,473 |
3,548 |
$25,475 |
| 54 |
Earth Days
|
Documentary
|
|
$22,362 |
3,114 |
$22,359 |
| 55 |
Not Quite Hollywood
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$21,152 |
2,946 |
$21,152 |
| 56 |
A Wink and a Smile
|
Documentary
|
|
$20,169 |
2,809 |
$20,169 |
| 57 |
Walt and El Grupo
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$19,900 |
2,772 |
$19,903 |
| 58 |
Man on Wire
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$19,252 |
2,681 |
$19,250 |
| 59 |
Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death and Hannah Senesh
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$17,655 |
2,459 |
$17,656 |
| 60 |
Sex Positive
|
Documentary
|
|
$11,669 |
1,625 |
$11,668 |
| 61 |
I.O.U.S.A.
|
Documentary
|
PG
|
$10,850 |
1,511 |
$10,849 |
| 62 |
The Beautiful Truth
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$10,568 |
1,472 |
$10,569 |
| 63 |
Objectified
|
Documentary
|
|
$8,668 |
1,207 |
$8,666 |
| 64 |
Eleven Minutes
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$7,986 |
1,112 |
$7,984 |
| 65 |
Louise Bourgeois
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$7,868 |
1,096 |
$7,869 |
| 66 |
Fallen Idol: The Yuri Gagarin Conspiracy
|
Documentary
|
|
$7,645 |
1,065 |
$7,647 |
| 67 |
Chelsea on the Rocks
|
Documentary
|
R
|
$7,259 |
1,011 |
$7,259 |
| 68 |
Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$6,840 |
953 |
$6,843 |
| 69 |
American Journey, An
|
Documentary
|
|
$6,180 |
861 |
$6,182 |
| 70 |
Call+Response
|
Documentary
|
PG-13
|
$5,364 |
747 |
$5,363 |
| 71 |
America Betrayed
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$2,450 |
341 |
$2,448 |
| 72 |
Food Beware
|
Documentary
|
|
$1,181 |
164 |
$1,178 |
| 73 |
Yiddish Theater: A Love Story
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$632 |
88 |
$632 |
| 74 |
Made in Jamaica
|
Documentary
|
Not Rated
|
$181 |
25 |
$180 |
| Total Gross of All Movies | $150,964,586 |
| Total Tickets Sold | 21,025,710 |
| Total Gross of All Movies at 2008 ticket prices | $150,964,598 |
Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 2009.
It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 2009.
For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 2008 will most likely earn money in 2008 and 2009.
Click on the individual movie to see its total gross over all the years in which it played.
Each box office year ends on the first Sunday of the following year.
The next year starts the following day (Monday).
For example, the "2004 box office year" ended on Sunday, January 2, 2005.
Inflation-adjusted figures are based ticket sale estimates, and may not be precise due to
rounding errors.
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