Box Office Performance for Documentary Movies in 2009

Rank	Movie	Release Date	Theatrical Distributor	MPAA Rating	2009 Gross	Tickets Sold
1	Michael Jackson's This Is It	10/28/2009	Sony Pictures	PG	$72,091,016	9,612,135
2	earth	4/22/2009	Walt Disney	G	$32,011,576	4,268,210
3	Under the Sea 3D	2/13/2009	Warner Bros.	G	$19,416,024	2,588,803
4	Capitalism: A Love Story	9/23/2009	Overture Films	R	$14,363,397	1,915,120
5	Magnificent Desolation	9/23/2005	IMAX Films	Not Rated	$13,024,828	1,736,644
6	Deep Sea 3-D	3/3/2006	Warner Bros.	G	$5,275,270	703,369
7	Food, Inc.	6/12/2009	Magnolia Pictures	PG	$4,417,674	589,023
8	Good Hair	10/9/2009	Roadside Attractions	PG-13	$4,146,170	552,823
9	The September Issue	8/28/2009	Roadside Attractions	PG-13	$3,817,183	508,958
10	Space Station	4/19/2002	IMAX Films	Not Rated	$3,314,255	441,901
11	Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure	10/5/2007	National Geographic Entertainment	Not Rated	$2,299,538	306,605
12	Waltz with Bashir	12/25/2008	Sony Pictures Classics	R	$2,063,408	275,121
13	Dolphins and Whales Tribes of the Ocean 3D	2/15/2008	3D Entertainment	Not Rated	$2,013,083	268,411
14	Valentino: The Last Emperor	3/18/2009	Truly Indie	PG-13	$1,755,134	234,018
15	Every Little Step	4/17/2009	Sony Pictures Classics	PG-13	$1,725,141	230,019
16	It Might Get Loud	8/14/2009	Sony Pictures Classics	PG	$1,610,163	214,688
17	X Games 3D: The Movie	8/21/2009	Walt Disney	PG	$1,391,434	185,525
18	Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg	7/10/2009	International Film Circuit	Not Rated	$1,133,662	151,155
19	More Than a Game	10/2/2009	Lionsgate	PG	$950,675	126,757
20	Tyson	4/24/2009	Sony Pictures Classics	R	$887,918	118,389
21	The Cove	7/31/2009	Roadside Attractions	PG-13	$861,796	114,906
22	The Cross: The Arthur Blessitt Story	3/27/2009	Gener8xion Entertainment	PG	$741,557	98,874
23	Anvil! The Story of Anvil	4/10/2009	Abramorama Films	Not Rated	$667,911	89,055
24	Roving Mars	1/27/2006	Walt Disney	G	$545,961	72,795
25	Enlighten Up!	9/12/2008	Balcony Releasing	Not Rated	$213,423	28,456
26	Soul Power	7/10/2009	Sony Pictures Classics	PG-13	$207,121	27,616
27	Harvard Beats Yale	11/19/2008	Kino/Emerging	Not Rated	$204,458	27,261
28	Fuel	11/14/2008	Blue Water Entertainment	Not Rated	$169,340	22,579
29	Youssou N'Dour: I Bring What I Love	6/12/2009	Shadow	Not Rated	$164,234	21,898
30	Examined Life	2/25/2009	Zeitgeist	Not Rated	$120,712	16,095
31	Throw Down Your Heart	3/13/2009	Argot Pictures	Not Rated	$115,778	15,437
32	Ballerina	1/16/2009	First Run Features	Not Rated	$114,507	15,268
33	Lord, Save Us From Your Followers	6/13/2008	Thunderstruck Films	PG-13	$61,941	8,259
34	The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story	5/22/2009		PG	$55,513	7,402
35	In a Dream	4/10/2009	International Film Circuit	Not Rated	$55,270	7,369
36	Dalai Lama Renaissance	5/21/2008	Self Distributed	Not Rated	$49,675	6,623
37	Oh My God	11/13/2009	Mitropoulos Films	Not Rated	$38,245	5,099
38	Pray the Devil Back to Hell	11/7/2008	Balcony Releasing	Not Rated	$38,180	5,091
39	Our City Dreams	2/4/2009	First Run Features	Not Rated	$34,972	4,663
40	Trouble the Water	8/22/2008	Zeitgeist	Not Rated	$33,569	4,476
41	Of Time and the City	1/23/2009	Strand	Not Rated	$32,677	4,357
42	The Betrayal	11/21/2008	Cinema Guild	Not Rated	$30,623	4,083
43	American Swing	3/27/2009	Magnolia Pictures	Not Rated	$30,156	4,021
44	The Singing Revolution	12/7/2007	Abramorama Films	Not Rated	$28,025	3,737
45	Guest of Cindy Sherman	3/27/2009	Trela	Not Rated	$27,052	3,607
46	The Garden	4/24/2009	Oscilloscope Pictures	Not Rated	$26,931	3,591
47	Stranded: I've Come from a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains	10/22/2008	Zeitgeist	Not Rated	$25,473	3,396
48	Not Quite Hollywood	7/31/2009	Magnet Pictures	R	$21,152	2,820
49	Walt and El Grupo	9/10/2009	Walt Disney	PG	$20,521	2,736
50	Man on Wire	7/25/2008	Magnolia Pictures	PG-13	$19,252	2,567
51	Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death and Hannah Senesh	1/28/2009	Balcony Releasing	Not Rated	$18,654	2,487
52	The Beautiful Truth	11/14/2008	Cinema Libre	Not Rated	$12,361	1,648
53	Chelsea on the Rocks	10/2/2009	Aliquot Films	R	$11,799	1,573
54	I.O.U.S.A.	8/22/2008	Roadside Attractions	PG	$10,850	1,447
55	Eleven Minutes	2/13/2009	Regent Releasing	R	$7,986	1,065
56	Louise Bourgeois	6/25/2008	Zeitgeist	Not Rated	$7,868	1,049
57	Call+Response	10/10/2008	Fair Trade Pictures	PG-13	$5,364	715
58	Made in Jamaica	1/23/2009	ArtMattan Productions	Not Rated	$3,149	420
59	America Betrayed	3/27/2009	First Run Features	Not Rated	$2,450	327
60	Yiddish Theater: A Love Story	11/21/2007	New Love Films	Not Rated	$632	84
Total Gross of All Movies					$192,544,687
Total Tickets Sold						25,672,626

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 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.

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.