Market Charts > 2003 > Genres > Documentary

Box Office Performance for Documentary Movies in 2003

← 2002 Summary for all Years 2004 →
RankMovieRelease
Date		 Theatrical
Distributor		MPAA
Rating		2003 GrossTickets Sold
1 Space Station Apr 19, 2002 IMAX Films Not Rated $15,713,110 2,605,822
2 Ghosts of the Abyss Apr 11, 2003 Walt Disney G $15,283,482 2,534,574
3 Winged Migration Apr 18, 2003 Sony Pictures Cla… G $11,689,053 1,938,483
4 Tupac Resurrection Nov 14, 2003 Paramount Pictures R $7,718,961 1,280,093
5 Spellbound Apr 30, 2003 ThinkFilm G $5,728,581 950,013
6 Bowling for Columbine Oct 11, 2002 MGM R $5,545,141 919,592
7 Bugs! (IMAX) Mar 14, 2003 SK Films Not Rated $4,374,388 725,437
8 The Real Cancun Apr 25, 2003 New Line R $3,816,594 632,934
9 Step Into Liquid Aug 8, 2003 Artisan PG $3,681,803 610,580
10 Capturing the Friedmans May 30, 2003 Magnolia Pictures Not Rated $3,117,985 517,078
11 DysFunkTional Family Apr 4, 2003 Miramax R $2,255,000 373,963
12 Rivers and Tides Jun 28, 2002 Roxie Releasing Not Rated $2,198,237 364,550
13 Shackleton's Antarctic Adve… Feb 9, 2001 WGBH Giant-Screen… Not Rated $1,874,005 310,780
14 Lost in La Mancha Jan 31, 2003 IFC Films R $734,514 121,809
15 Shanghai Ghetto Sep 27, 2002 Menemsha Entertai… Not Rated $683,331 113,321
16 Mark Twain's America 3D Jul 3, 1998 Sony Pictures Cla… G $620,689 102,933
17 To Be and To Have Sep 17, 2003 New Yorker Not Rated $545,153 90,406
18 The Weather Underground Jun 6, 2003 Shadow Not Rated $500,877 83,064
19 Thrill Ride: The Science of… Jul 11, 1997 Sony Pictures Cla… G $482,900 80,082
20 My Architect Nov 14, 2003 New Yorker Not Rated $439,580 72,898
21 Amandla! A Revolution in Fo… Feb 21, 2003 Artisan PG-13 $405,331 67,219
22 Galapagos Oct 29, 1999 IMAX Films Not Rated $391,051 64,850
23 Im Toten Winkel - Hitlers S… Jan 24, 2003 Sony Pictures Cla… PG $376,886 62,501
24 Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion Sep 19, 2003 Artistic License Not Rated $375,249 62,230
25 Standing in the Shadows of … Nov 15, 2002 Artisan PG $284,720 47,217
26 The Fog of War Dec 19, 2003 Sony Pictures Cla… PG-13 $276,427 45,841
27 Bonhoeffer Jun 20, 2003 First Run Features Not Rated $271,237 44,981
28 Encounter in the Third Dime… Feb 26, 1999 nWave Pictures Not Rated $265,482 44,026
29 The Girl Next Door Apr 14, 2000 Indican Pictures R $256,477 42,533
30 Power & Terror: Noam Chomsk… Nov 22, 2002 Not Rated $234,686 38,919
31 Ônibus 174 Oct 8, 2003 ThinkFilm R $167,340 27,751
32 Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns May 23, 2003 Not Rated $160,621 26,636
33 Billabong Odyssey Nov 7, 2003 PG $155,500 25,787
34 The Trials of Henry Kissinger Sep 25, 2002 First Run Features Not Rated $126,788 21,026
35 Extreme Mar 23, 1999 IMAX Films Not Rated $121,923 20,219
36 Fellini: Sono un Gran Bugiardo Apr 2, 2003 Not Rated $106,080 17,592
37 Stevie Mar 28, 2003 R $97,044 16,093
38 Only the Strong Survive May 9, 2003 Miramax PG-13 $57,322 9,506
39 Secret Lives: Hidden Childr… May 16, 2003 Not Rated $37,156 6,161
40 My Flesh and Blood Nov 26, 2003 Not Rated $35,838 5,943
41 A Decade Under the Influence Apr 25, 2003 R $34,514 5,723
42 Sans Soleil Nov 21, 2003 Not Rated $30,878 5,120
43 Girlhood Oct 31, 2003 Not Rated $28,892 4,791
44 Beyond Vanilla May 9, 2003 Strand Releasing Not Rated $27,396 4,543
45 Massoud, the Afghan Dec 6, 2002 Not Rated $20,888 3,464
46 Muhammad Ali: The Greatest Nov 21, 1969 Not Rated $20,073 3,328
47 Ziggy Stardust and the Spid… Dec 23, 1983 PG $18,430 3,056
48 7th Street Jan 17, 2003 Not Rated $15,629 2,591
49 Venus Boyz Aug 22, 2003 First Run Features Not Rated $15,171 2,515
50 Hybrid May 10, 2002 Indican Pictures Not Rated $11,943 1,980
51 Cinemania May 16, 2003 WellSpring Not Rated $11,305 1,874
52 The Settlers Jan 15, 2003 Not Rated $10,592 1,756
53 American Storytellers Nov 7, 2003 Indican Pictures Not Rated $8,440 1,399
54 In the Mirror of Maya Deren Jan 24, 2003 Not Rated $6,015 997
55 Forget Baghdad: Jews and Ar… Dec 5, 2003 Arab Film Distrib… Not Rated $3,741 620
56 The Backyard Aug 29, 2003 Not Rated $3,200 530
57 The Ballad of Bering Strait Feb 19, 2003 Emerging Pictures Not Rated $1,440 238
58 The Cockettes May 10, 2002 Not Rated $1,210 200
59 Independent Spirits: Faith … Nov 28, 2003 Not Rated $960 159
Total Gross of All Movies$91,477,259
Total Tickets Sold15,170,327

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 2003. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 2003. 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.