Market Charts > Genres > Documentary

Box Office History for Documentary

Ticket Sales and Market Share by Year


Note: Figures for 2024 are at an annualized rate.

Top-Grossing Movies 1995-2024, Adjusted for Ticket Price Inflation

RankMovieRelease
Date
Theatrical
Distributor
MPAA
Rating
Total GrossInflation-Adjusted
Gross
1 Fahrenheit 9/11 Jun 23, 2004 Lionsgate R $119,114,517 $201,976,783
2 Everest Mar 6, 1998 MacGillivray Free… PG-13 $87,178,599 $191,967,586
3 Jackass 3D Oct 15, 2010 Paramount Pictures R $117,229,692 $160,168,507
4 The Living Sea Feb 1, 1995 IMAX Films Not Rated $64,800,000 $156,860,682
5 Space Station Apr 19, 2002 IMAX Films Not Rated $93,231,060 $153,204,613
6 La marche de l'empereur Jun 24, 2005 Warner Independent G $77,437,223 $127,209,666
7 Jackass: Number Two Sep 22, 2006 Paramount Pictures R $72,778,712 $117,001,494
8 Jackass: The Movie Oct 25, 2002 Paramount Pictures R $64,282,312 $116,499,929
9 Dolphins Oct 20, 2000 MacGillivray Free… Not Rated $54,000,000 $105,495,353
10 Michael Jackson's This Is It Oct 28, 2009 Sony Pictures PG $72,091,016 $103,618,815
11 Deep Sea 3D Mar 3, 2006 Warner Bros. G $63,909,721 $98,697,690
12 Mysteries of Egypt Jul 16, 1998 Sony Pictures Not Rated $40,593,286 $82,508,057
13 Hubble 3D Mar 19, 2010 Warner Bros. G $52,753,175 $69,646,928
14 Magnificent Desolation Sep 23, 2005 IMAX Films Not Rated $34,126,126 $52,322,833
15 Under the Sea 3D Feb 13, 2009 Warner Bros. G $37,346,841 $48,656,634
16 Born to be Wild 3D Apr 8, 2011 Warner Bros. G $36,869,362 $48,385,243
17 2016: Obama’s America Jul 13, 2012 Rocky Mountain Pi… PG $33,349,941 $45,164,869
18 Earth Apr 22, 2009 Walt Disney G $32,011,576 $44,944,251
19 Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun Jul 11, 1997 Sony Pictures Cla… G $18,798,682 $40,360,426
20 Chimpanzee Apr 20, 2012 Walt Disney G $28,965,459 $39,227,083
21 An Inconvenient Truth May 24, 2006 Paramount Vantage PG $24,146,161 $38,818,171
22 Bowling for Columbine Oct 11, 2002 MGM R $21,576,018 $38,737,543
23 Sicko Jun 22, 2007 Lionsgate PG-13 $24,538,513 $37,556,761
24 NASCAR: The IMAX Experience Mar 12, 2004 Warner Bros. PG $21,550,235 $36,436,317
25 Michael Jordan to the MAX May 5, 2000 Giant Screen Films Not Rated $18,642,318 $36,019,792
Complete List

Year by Year Market Share

YearMovies in
Release
Market
Share
GrossTickets SoldInflation-
Adjusted
Gross
Top-Grossing MovieGross that Year
1995 11 1.54% $82,043,255 18,860,514 $203,316,341 The Living Sea $64,800,000
1996 8 0.12% $6,800,523 1,538,575 $16,585,839 Snowriders $2,035,470
1997 10 0.17% $10,381,026 2,261,657 $24,380,662 When We Were Kings $2,666,118
1998 14 1.26% $85,999,412 18,336,754 $197,670,208 Everest $66,877,098
1999 35 1.27% $92,998,429 18,306,761 $197,346,884 Mysteries of Egypt $27,042,366
2000 47 1.70% $127,985,465 23,744,959 $255,970,658 Dolphins $54,000,000
2001 27 0.27% $22,810,443 4,030,101 $43,444,489 Shackleton's Antarctic Adve… $6,683,025
2002 34 1.49% $136,446,060 23,484,675 $253,164,797 Jackass: The Movie $64,209,101
2003 60 1.00% $91,550,470 15,182,468 $163,667,005 Space Station $15,713,110
2004 91 2.54% $235,563,421 37,932,871 $408,916,349 Fahrenheit 9/11 $119,114,517
2005 101 1.96% $172,361,524 26,889,428 $289,868,034 La marche de l'empereur $77,437,223
2006 115 2.10% $192,619,406 29,407,485 $317,012,688 Jackass: Number Two $72,778,712
2007 110 0.72% $70,785,473 10,288,527 $110,910,321 Sicko $24,538,513
2008 126 0.90% $87,432,868 12,177,214 $131,270,367 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric… $14,144,251
2009 94 1.76% $187,731,285 25,030,799 $269,832,013 Michael Jackson's This Is It $72,091,016
2010 120 2.02% $211,407,878 26,794,346 $288,843,050 Jackass 3D $117,109,417
2011 136 0.81% $82,535,872 10,407,985 $112,198,078 African Cats $15,428,747
2012 150 1.34% $147,472,001 18,526,562 $199,716,338 2016: Obama’s America $33,349,941
2013 160 0.45% $49,277,491 6,061,122 $65,338,895 Justin Bieber’s Believe $5,962,982
2014 152 0.86% $88,546,029 10,837,874 $116,832,282 Bears $17,780,194
2015 143 0.58% $65,118,866 7,724,594 $83,271,123 Monkey Kingdom $16,432,322
2016 158 0.52% $58,535,027 6,766,981 $72,948,055 A Beautiful Planet $15,650,615
2017 147 0.41% $44,807,810 4,995,230 $53,848,579 Born in China $13,873,211
2018 142 0.89% $106,722,788 11,714,848 $126,286,061 Won’t You Be My Neighbor? $22,835,787
2019 136 0.78% $87,291,201 9,529,542 $102,728,463 They Shall Not Grow Old $12,253,074
2020 53 0.20% $4,033,428 439,346 $4,736,150 Beureikeu deo sa illeonseu $1,000,000
2021 48 0.36% $16,273,466 1,600,123 $17,249,326 Roadrunner: A Film About An… $5,354,970
2022 78 0.19% $14,393,284 1,366,853 $14,734,675 Moonage Daydream $4,266,717
2023 85 0.41% $36,346,731 3,371,643 $36,346,312 After Death $11,477,621
2024 20 0.06% $815,838 75,673 $815,755 Anselm: Das Rauschen der Zeit $338,042

Upcoming Releases

Release DateMovie Theatrical
Distributor
Domestic
Box Office
to Date
Trailer
February, 2024
February 21 Nostalghia (Limited) Kino Lorber $126,191  
 
February 22 Guadalupe: Mother of Humanity (Limited) Ave María Films    
 
February 23 Kiss the Future (Limited) Fifth Season    
Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at… (Limited) Fiore Media Group    
 
February 27 Painting the Modern Garden: Monet to … (Limited) Seventh Art Relea…    
 
February 29 Berlin Bytch Love (Limited) UCM ONE    
March, 2024
March 1 500 Days in the Wild (Limited) Elevation Pictures    
Copa 71 (Limited) Greenwich    
 
March 8 High & Low — John Galliano (Limited) MUBI $21,144  
One Hand Don’t Clap (Limited) Kino Lorber    
Space: The Longest Goodbye (Limited) Greenwich    
 
March 10 Bible Cinema Roadshow: The 7 Churches… (Special Engagement) Iconic Releasing    
 
March 15 Bad River (Limited) AMC Theatres Dist…    
Butterfly in the Sky (Limited)    
Much Ado About Dying (Limited) First Run Features    
Remembering Gene Wilder (Limited) Kino Lorber $3,270  
Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (Limited) Janus Films $11,293  
 
March 17 Bible Cinema Roadshow: The 7 Churches… (Special Engagement) Iconic Releasing    
 
March 20 The Ark and the Darkness (Special Engagement) Fathom Events    
 
March 22 Carol Doda Topless at the Condor (Limited) Picturehouse    
William Shatner: You Can Call Me Bill (Limited) Falling Forward F…    
 
March 27 Hate to Love: Nickelback (Special Engagement) Trafalgar Releasing    
 
March 29 The Lie: The Murder of Grace Millane (Limited) Brainstorm Media    
On The Adamant (Limited) Kino Lorber    
April, 2024
April 10 Indigo Girls: It’s Only Life After All (Special Engagement) Oscilloscope Pict…    
 
April 12 Food, Inc. 2 (Limited) Magnolia Pictures    
Lost Angel: The Genius of Judee Sill (Limited) Greenwich    
 
April 16 Exhibition on Screen: John Singer Sar… (Limited) Seventh Art Relea…    
 
April 19 Little Empty Boxes (Limited) Abramorama Films    
 
April 26 Uncropped (Limited) Greenwich    
May, 2024
May 17 Taking Venice (Limited) Zeitgeist    
 
May 24 Songs of Earth (Limited) Strand Releasing    
June, 2024
June 2 Jesus Thirsts: The Miracle of the Euc… (Limited) Fathom Events    
 
 
June TBD How to Come Alive With Normal Mailer (Limited) Kino Lorber    
August, 2024
August 2 CatVideoFest 2024 (Limited) Oscilloscope Pict…    
 
September, 2024
Summer 2024 This World is Not My Own (Limited) Juno Films    
October, 2024
October 11 Piece by Piece (Wide) Focus Features    
 
December, 2024
During 2024 George A. Romero’s Resident Evil (Limited) Key 13 Films    
Resistance — They Fought Back (Limited) Abramorama Films    

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.