Dirty Wars (2013)

Dirty Wars poster
Theatrical Performance
Domestic Box Office $371,245Details
International Box Office $43,314Details
Worldwide Box Office $414,559
Further financial details...

Synopsis

It’s the dirty little secret of the War on Terror: all bets are off, and almost anything goes. We have fundamentally changed the rules of the game and the rules of engagement. Today drone strikes, night raids, and U.S. government–condoned torture occur in corners across the globe, generating unprecedented civilian casualties. Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill (author of BLACKWATER: The Rise of the World's Most Mercenary Army) traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command, the most secret fighting force in U.S. history, exposing operations carried out by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress. No target is off-limits for the JSOC “kill list,” even a U.S. citizen.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$63,504 (17.1% of total gross)
Legs:5.85 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:89.6% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:4 opening theaters/31 max. theaters, 4.3 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $492,247

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,454 $371,245
All Time International Box Office (Rank 20,201-20,300) 20,283 $43,314
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 18,601-18,700) 18,604 $414,559
All Time Domestic Highest Grossing Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,801-2,900) 2,815 $371,245

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Movie Details

Domestic Releases: June 7th, 2013 (Limited) by IFC Films
International Releases: November 29th, 2013 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 87 minutes
Comparisons: vs. Frozen II
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Investigative Journalist, War, Voiceover/Narration, Agitprop
Source:Based on Real Life Events
Genre:Documentary
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Factual
Production/Financing Companies: Big Noise Production, Civic Bakery
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date		Days In
Release
Top 2013 Theater Average 78 $15,876 Jun 7, 2013 3

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,454 $371,245
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office (Rank 10,001-10,100) 10,020 $492,247
All Time Domestic Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 9,501-9,600) 9,537 $371,245
Top 2013 Movies at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 201-300) 249 $371,245
All Time Domestic Highest Grossing Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,801-2,900) 2,815 $371,245
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office for Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,901-3,000) 2,954 $492,247
Top 2013 Limited Release Movies at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 101-200) 104 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 901-1,000) 1,000 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 9,301-9,400) 9,336 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 401-500) 495 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 401-500) 439 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 1,101-1,200) 1,148 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 101-200) 111 $371,245

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 7, 2013 36 $63,504   4 $15,876   $63,504 1
Jun 14, 2013 37 $48,469 -24% 14 $3,462   $137,247 2
Jun 21, 2013 36 $45,409 -6% 20 $2,270   $203,725 3
Jun 28, 2013 43 $44,754 -1% 31 $1,444   $275,224 4
Jul 5, 2013 39 $12,004 -73% 13 $923   $287,228 5
Jul 12, 2013 46 $8,151 -32% 13 $627   $223,947 6
Jul 19, 2013 68 $6,246 -23% 17 $367   $344,417 7
Jul 26, 2013 57 $6,853 +10% 13 $527   $356,077 8
Aug 2, 2013 70 $3,156 -54% 8 $395   $365,604 9

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 7, 2013 35 $88,778   4 $22,195   $88,778 1
Jun 14, 2013 37 $69,538 -22% 14 $4,967   $158,316 2
Jun 21, 2013 38 $72,154 +4% 20 $3,608   $230,470 3
Jul 12, 2013 51 $13,757   14 $983   $300,985 6
Jul 19, 2013 62 $11,053 -20% 17 $650   $349,224 7
Jul 26, 2013 56 $13,224 +20% 13 $1,017   $362,448 8
Aug 2, 2013 69 $8,797 -33% 8 $1,100   $371,245 9

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date		 Opening
Weekend		 Opening
Weekend
Screens		 Maximum
Screens		 Theatrical
Engagements		 Total
Box Office		 Report
Date
United Kingdom 11/29/2013 $13,934 4 4 8 $26,260 12/13/2015
 
Rest of World $17,054
 
International Total$43,314 12/13/2015

International Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time International Box Office (Rank 20,201-20,300) 20,283 $43,314
All Time International Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 19,001-19,100) 19,006 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 2,101-2,200) 2,144 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 17,201-17,300) 17,261 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 1,401-1,500) 1,491 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 1,301-1,400) 1,317 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 1,901-2,000) 1,981 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 201-300) 268 $43,314

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 18,601-18,700) 18,604 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 17,201-17,300) 17,226 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,631 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 15,801-15,900) 15,868 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 801-900) 832 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 601-700) 699 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,046 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 201-300) 225 $414,559

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.

Narrator(s)

Jeremy Scahill    Narrator

Interviewee(s)

Col. Abdul Ghafoor    Himself
Mohammed Tahir    Himself
Mohammed Sabir    Himself
Hajji Sharabuddin    Himself
General Hugh Shelton    Himself
Jerome Starkey    Himself
Matthew Hoh    Himself
Andrew Exum    Himself
Sheikh Saleh Bin Fareed    Himself
Muqbal al Kazemi    Himself

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Richard Rowley    Director
Jeremy Scahill    Screenwriter
David Riker    Screenwriter
Jeremy Scahill    Producer
Anthony Arnove    Producer
Brenda Coughlin    Producer
Scott Roth    Executive Producer
Jess Search    Executive Producer
Randall Wallace    Executive Producer
Sandra Whipham    Executive Producer
Richard Rowley    Editor
David Harrington    Composer
Richard Rowley    Director of Photography

2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Documentary

February 15th, 2014

The Act of Killing poster

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Feature-Length Documentary, which is probably the hardest category to predict, because some of the previous winners of major awards were not even nominated for an Oscar. When the nominations were this unpredictable, the winner could be any of the five films. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars Understand the Gravity of the Situation

January 16th, 2014

Gravity poster

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and there are some surprises mixed in with the predictable results. Gravity and American Hustle led the way with ten nominations each while 12 Years a Slave was right behind with nine. The fact that 12 Years a Slave wasn't the leader is the first of the surprises. More...

2014 Awards Season: WGA: Nominees Have Stories to Tell

January 5th, 2014

Stories We Tell poster

WGAs announced their nominations this weekend and there were a couple of surprises to talk about. The top of that list is 12 Years a Slave, which was deemed ineligible because it wasn't written under WGA jurisdiction. This makes using the WGAs as an Oscar guide less reliable. On the other hand, several Oscar favorites showed up as well, including American Hustle, Nebraska, and others that have picked up major nominations this year. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for October 15th, 2013

October 14th, 2013

It's a good week on the home market with two $100 million hits coming out: The Heat and Pacific Rim. I've heard good things about both films, but unfortunately, neither screener has arrived. Also, while we have two big release on top, there's not a lot of depth and we quickly run into releases that would be filler during a normal week. At the time I started this column, no new releases for the week had arrived on time, but at least that gave me a chance to get a bit caught up on some of the previous late arrivals. This list includes two contenders for Pick of the Week: White Collar: Season Four and Modern Family: Season Four on DVD or Blu-ray. Both are must haves, but the latter won out for Pick of the Week honors. More...

Per Theater Chart: Much Success for Nothing

June 12th, 2013

Much Ado About Nothing lived up to the hype earning first place on the per theater chart with an average of $34,388 in five theaters. This is enough to suggest significant expansion, but I think it is too "art house" to expand even semi-wide. Dirty Wars opened in second place with an average of $15,876 in four theaters. This is an excellent start for a documentary. The overall box office leader, The Purge, earned third place with an average of $13,430. The final film in the $10,000 club was Before Midnight with an average of $10,123 in 52 theaters during its third weekend of release. More...

Weekend Estimates: Purge Surges to Number One

June 9th, 2013

Coming into this weekend, Universal was already celebrating above-expectations performances this year for their releases Fast and Furious 6, Identity Thief and Mama, but those three successes have been eclipsed by a big surprise in the opening weekend for The Purge. The home invasion movie, made for just $3 million, will top the chart this weekend with an estimated $36.4 million, blowing past all expectations, and putting it on par with big budget movies like Oblivion. Doing so from a modest 2,536 theaters (and with a correspondingly low marketing budget) makes the victory even sweeter for the studio, which now boasts a 15% market share for the year. If it keeps going at this pace, Universal will have its best year since we started keeping records in 1995. More...

Limited Release: Much Ado About Limited Releases

June 7th, 2013

There are not a ton of new releases this week, but there are a few earning good reviews, and even a couple that are earning excellent reviews. Hopefully several will do well enough at the box office to thrive, but the only one I'm really bullish about is Much Ado About Nothing. It has excellent reviews, lots of buzz, and plenty of name recognition on both sides of the camera. More...


  1. Summary
  2. News
  3. Box Office
  4. International
  5. Video Sales
  6. Full Financials
  7. Cast & Crew
  8. Trailer

Synopsis

It’s the dirty little secret of the War on Terror: all bets are off, and almost anything goes. We have fundamentally changed the rules of the game and the rules of engagement. Today drone strikes, night raids, and U.S. government–condoned torture occur in corners across the globe, generating unprecedented civilian casualties. Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill (author of BLACKWATER: The Rise of the World's Most Mercenary Army) traces the rise of the Joint Special Operations Command, the most secret fighting force in U.S. history, exposing operations carried out by men who do not exist on paper and will never appear before Congress. No target is off-limits for the JSOC “kill list,” even a U.S. citizen.

Metrics

Opening Weekend:$63,504 (17.1% of total gross)
Legs:5.85 (domestic box office/biggest weekend)
Domestic Share:89.6% (domestic box office/worldwide)
Theater counts:4 opening theaters/31 max. theaters, 4.3 weeks average run per theater
Infl. Adj. Dom. BO $492,247

Latest Ranking on Cumulative Box Office Lists

RecordRankAmount
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,454 $371,245
All Time International Box Office (Rank 20,201-20,300) 20,283 $43,314
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 18,601-18,700) 18,604 $414,559
All Time Domestic Highest Grossing Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,801-2,900) 2,815 $371,245

See the Box Office tab (Domestic) and International tab (International and Worldwide) for more Cumulative Box Office Records.


Movie Details

Domestic Releases: June 7th, 2013 (Limited) by IFC Films
International Releases: November 29th, 2013 (Wide) (United Kingdom)
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 87 minutes
Comparisons: vs. Frozen II
Create your own comparison chart…
Keywords: Investigative Journalist, War, Voiceover/Narration, Agitprop
Source:Based on Real Life Events
Genre:Documentary
Production Method:Live Action
Creative Type:Factual
Production/Financing Companies: Big Noise Production, Civic Bakery
Production Countries: United States
Languages: English

Ranking on other Records and Milestones

RecordRankAmountChart
Date		Days In
Release
Top 2013 Theater Average 78 $15,876 Jun 7, 2013 3

Narrator(s)

Jeremy Scahill    Narrator

Interviewee(s)

Col. Abdul Ghafoor    Himself
Mohammed Tahir    Himself
Mohammed Sabir    Himself
Hajji Sharabuddin    Himself
General Hugh Shelton    Himself
Jerome Starkey    Himself
Matthew Hoh    Himself
Andrew Exum    Himself
Sheikh Saleh Bin Fareed    Himself
Muqbal al Kazemi    Himself

For a description of the different acting role types we use to categorize acting perfomances, see our Glossary.

Production and Technical Credits

Richard Rowley    Director
Jeremy Scahill    Screenwriter
David Riker    Screenwriter
Jeremy Scahill    Producer
Anthony Arnove    Producer
Brenda Coughlin    Producer
Scott Roth    Executive Producer
Jess Search    Executive Producer
Randall Wallace    Executive Producer
Sandra Whipham    Executive Producer
Richard Rowley    Editor
David Harrington    Composer
Richard Rowley    Director of Photography

2014 Awards Season: Oscar Highlight: Best Feature-Length Documentary

February 15th, 2014

The Act of Killing poster

With our annual Oscar Prediction contest underway, now is the best time to look at the nominees and try and figure out who the favorites are and which films should just feel honored to be nominated. Today we look at Best Feature-Length Documentary, which is probably the hardest category to predict, because some of the previous winners of major awards were not even nominated for an Oscar. When the nominations were this unpredictable, the winner could be any of the five films. More...

2014 Awards Season: Oscars Understand the Gravity of the Situation

January 16th, 2014

Gravity poster

The Oscar nominations were announced this morning and there are some surprises mixed in with the predictable results. Gravity and American Hustle led the way with ten nominations each while 12 Years a Slave was right behind with nine. The fact that 12 Years a Slave wasn't the leader is the first of the surprises. More...

2014 Awards Season: WGA: Nominees Have Stories to Tell

January 5th, 2014

Stories We Tell poster

WGAs announced their nominations this weekend and there were a couple of surprises to talk about. The top of that list is 12 Years a Slave, which was deemed ineligible because it wasn't written under WGA jurisdiction. This makes using the WGAs as an Oscar guide less reliable. On the other hand, several Oscar favorites showed up as well, including American Hustle, Nebraska, and others that have picked up major nominations this year. More...

DVD and Blu-ray Releases for October 15th, 2013

October 14th, 2013

It's a good week on the home market with two $100 million hits coming out: The Heat and Pacific Rim. I've heard good things about both films, but unfortunately, neither screener has arrived. Also, while we have two big release on top, there's not a lot of depth and we quickly run into releases that would be filler during a normal week. At the time I started this column, no new releases for the week had arrived on time, but at least that gave me a chance to get a bit caught up on some of the previous late arrivals. This list includes two contenders for Pick of the Week: White Collar: Season Four and Modern Family: Season Four on DVD or Blu-ray. Both are must haves, but the latter won out for Pick of the Week honors. More...

Per Theater Chart: Much Success for Nothing

June 12th, 2013

Much Ado About Nothing lived up to the hype earning first place on the per theater chart with an average of $34,388 in five theaters. This is enough to suggest significant expansion, but I think it is too "art house" to expand even semi-wide. Dirty Wars opened in second place with an average of $15,876 in four theaters. This is an excellent start for a documentary. The overall box office leader, The Purge, earned third place with an average of $13,430. The final film in the $10,000 club was Before Midnight with an average of $10,123 in 52 theaters during its third weekend of release. More...

Weekend Estimates: Purge Surges to Number One

June 9th, 2013

Coming into this weekend, Universal was already celebrating above-expectations performances this year for their releases Fast and Furious 6, Identity Thief and Mama, but those three successes have been eclipsed by a big surprise in the opening weekend for The Purge. The home invasion movie, made for just $3 million, will top the chart this weekend with an estimated $36.4 million, blowing past all expectations, and putting it on par with big budget movies like Oblivion. Doing so from a modest 2,536 theaters (and with a correspondingly low marketing budget) makes the victory even sweeter for the studio, which now boasts a 15% market share for the year. If it keeps going at this pace, Universal will have its best year since we started keeping records in 1995. More...

Limited Release: Much Ado About Limited Releases

June 7th, 2013

There are not a ton of new releases this week, but there are a few earning good reviews, and even a couple that are earning excellent reviews. Hopefully several will do well enough at the box office to thrive, but the only one I'm really bullish about is Much Ado About Nothing. It has excellent reviews, lots of buzz, and plenty of name recognition on both sides of the camera. More...

Compare this performance with other movies…

Domestic Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Domestic Box Office (Rank 10,401-10,500) 10,454 $371,245
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office (Rank 10,001-10,100) 10,020 $492,247
All Time Domestic Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 9,501-9,600) 9,537 $371,245
Top 2013 Movies at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 201-300) 249 $371,245
All Time Domestic Highest Grossing Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,801-2,900) 2,815 $371,245
All Time Domestic Inflation Adjusted Box Office for Limited Release Movies (Rank 2,901-3,000) 2,954 $492,247
Top 2013 Limited Release Movies at the Domestic Box Office (Rank 101-200) 104 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 901-1,000) 1,000 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 9,301-9,400) 9,336 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 401-500) 495 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 401-500) 439 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 1,101-1,200) 1,148 $371,245
All Time Domestic Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 101-200) 111 $371,245

Weekend Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 7, 2013 36 $63,504   4 $15,876   $63,504 1
Jun 14, 2013 37 $48,469 -24% 14 $3,462   $137,247 2
Jun 21, 2013 36 $45,409 -6% 20 $2,270   $203,725 3
Jun 28, 2013 43 $44,754 -1% 31 $1,444   $275,224 4
Jul 5, 2013 39 $12,004 -73% 13 $923   $287,228 5
Jul 12, 2013 46 $8,151 -32% 13 $627   $223,947 6
Jul 19, 2013 68 $6,246 -23% 17 $367   $344,417 7
Jul 26, 2013 57 $6,853 +10% 13 $527   $356,077 8
Aug 2, 2013 70 $3,156 -54% 8 $395   $365,604 9

Daily Box Office Performance

Weekly Box Office Performance

DateRankGross% ChangeTheatersPer TheaterTotal GrossWeek
Jun 7, 2013 35 $88,778   4 $22,195   $88,778 1
Jun 14, 2013 37 $69,538 -22% 14 $4,967   $158,316 2
Jun 21, 2013 38 $72,154 +4% 20 $3,608   $230,470 3
Jul 12, 2013 51 $13,757   14 $983   $300,985 6
Jul 19, 2013 62 $11,053 -20% 17 $650   $349,224 7
Jul 26, 2013 56 $13,224 +20% 13 $1,017   $362,448 8
Aug 2, 2013 69 $8,797 -33% 8 $1,100   $371,245 9

Box Office Summary Per Territory

Territory Release
Date		 Opening
Weekend		 Opening
Weekend
Screens		 Maximum
Screens		 Theatrical
Engagements		 Total
Box Office		 Report
Date
United Kingdom 11/29/2013 $13,934 4 4 8 $26,260 12/13/2015
 
Rest of World $17,054
 
International Total$43,314 12/13/2015

International Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time International Box Office (Rank 20,201-20,300) 20,283 $43,314
All Time International Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 19,001-19,100) 19,006 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 2,101-2,200) 2,144 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 17,201-17,300) 17,261 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 1,401-1,500) 1,491 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 1,301-1,400) 1,317 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 1,901-2,000) 1,981 $43,314
All Time International Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 201-300) 268 $43,314

Worldwide Cumulative Box Office Records

RecordRankRevenue
All Time Worldwide Box Office (Rank 18,601-18,700) 18,604 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Non-Sequel Box Office (Rank 17,201-17,300) 17,226 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Based on Real Life Events Movies (Rank 1,601-1,700) 1,631 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Live Action Movies (Rank 15,801-15,900) 15,868 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Factual Movies (Rank 801-900) 832 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Documentary Movies (Rank 601-700) 699 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Not Rated Movies (Rank 2,001-2,100) 2,046 $414,559
All Time Worldwide Box Office for IFC Films Movies (Rank 201-300) 225 $414,559

Full financial estimates for this film, including domestic and international box office, video sales, video rentals, TV and ancillary revenue are available through our research services. For more information, please contact us at research@the-numbers.com.