The following list includes the Top Grossing Documentaries from 1982 to the Present. For much more detail on this list see
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=documentary.htm
This list includes only the first 100 documentary films that have played in movie theaters. It does not include documentaries that were released only on DVD or the web. This listing does not include all non-fiction films such as concert and music eg Woodstock, or comedy performances. It does not compilation films such as That’s Entertainment or reality TV movies eg Jackass.
The Box Office Grosses of these 100 films ranges from $119 million to $790,000 With the average just under a million dollars.
Rank / Title
1 Fahrenheit 9/11
2 March of the Penguins
4 Sicko
5 An Inconvenient Truth
6 Bowling for Columbine
7 Madonna: Truth or Dare
8 Religulous
9 Winged Migration
10 Super Size Me
11 Mad Hot Ballroom
12 Hoop Dreams FL
13 Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed
14 Tupac: Resurrection
15 Roger and Me
16 The Aristocrats
17 Spellbound (2003)
18 Shine a Light
19 Touching the Void
20 Food, Inc.
21 The Fog of War
22 Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
23 Young@Heart
24 Paris is Burning
25 Imagine: John Lennon
26 Step Into Liquid
27 Born Into Brothels
28 The Corporation
29 Rize
30 Grizzly Man
31 Wordplay
32 Capturing the Friedmans
33 The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill
34 Crumb
35 Man on Wire
36 Unzipped
37 When We Were Kings
38 Comedian
39 My Architect
40 Freeriders
41 Control Room Magn.
42 The September Issue
43 The Endurance: Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure
44 Snowriders 2
45 A Brief History of Time
46 Riding Giants
47 Rivers and Tides
48 The Endless Summer II
49 Snowriders
50 Beyond the Mat
51 Endless Winter
52 Vertical Reality
53 The Story of the Weeping Camel
54 Valentino: The Last Emperor
55 Koyaanisqatsi
56 Every Little Step
57 Life & Times of Hank Greenberg
58 Who Killed the Electric Car?
59 Black Diamond Rush
60 Rhyme & Reason
61 Vincent: The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh
62 Murderball
63 Why We Fight
64 The Kid Stays in the Picture
65 No End in Sight
66 Microcosmos
67 Looking for Richard
68 The Celluloid Closet
69 Hearts of Darkness
70 Anne Frank Remembered
71 Brother’s Keeper
72 Dogtown and Z-Boys
73 Startup.com
74 Gonzo
75 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
76 Shut Up and Sing
77 The Thin Blue Line
78 Festival Express
79 American Movie
80 In the Shadow of the Moon
81 It Might Get Loud
82 Paper Clips
83 The U.S. Vs. John Lennon
84 Say Amen, Somebody
85 Leonard Cohen I’m Your Man
86 The Eyes of Tammy Faye
87 Encounters at the End of the World
88 American Teen
89 35 Up
90 Jesus Camp
91 The War Room
92 Tyson
93 Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
94 Marlene
95 Sharkwater
96 Arctic Tale
97 I.O.U.S.A.
98 Ballets Russes
99 Visions of Light
100 Into Great Silence
Feel free to comment on any of these films. See the comment box below.
Recent Comments