List of highest-grossing documentary films

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The following are the highest-grossing documentary films worldwide. The list also charts the highest-grossing documentary movies by calendar year. It includes different hybrid genre documentary films while excluding performance movies such as concert films, sometimes categorized as documentaries. Almost all reported figures are taken from Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, two publications that provide figures of film revenues.

A sign for Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets (1984) at the National Geographic Society visitor center of Arizona. It remains one of the highest-grossing documentary films.

Traditional observational-stylized films are dominant in the list, notably space and nature documentaries. Few documentaries have outspaced the $100 million mark. The highest-grossing documentary film is the biographical film Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) released following the artist's death that year,[1] surpassing Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), both of which grossed over $200 million. Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets (1984) also earned more than $200 million, while March of the Penguins (2005), Space Station 3D (2002), Everest (1998), To Fly! (1976), Earth (2007), and Deep Sea 3D (2006) are the only other documentary films to reach $100 million in revenue as of 2025.

In addition, Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets remains the highest-grossing IMAX documentary film in history and from the 20th century. Fahrenheit 9/11 had the biggest opening weekend sales for a documentary at over $23.9 million in the U.S. as well the widest release for a documentary film in its opening weekend.[2][3]

Key

Key
† Indicates films currently playing in theaters
‡ Indicates US and Canada grosses only
* Indicates films shown primarily in premium large format theaters

All-time list

General

More information Rank, Title ...
Top 50 highest-grossing documentaries as of May 2025[4]
Rank Title Lifetime gross Year Narrator(s) Topic(s) Ref.(s)
1 Michael Jackson's This Is It $267,983,588 2009 N/a Rehearsals for a concert residency by Michael Jackson [5]
2 Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets* $239,000,000 1984 N/a Grand Canyon [6]
3 Fahrenheit 9/11 $222,446,882 2004 Michael Moore The presidency of George W. Bush, the Iraq War [7]
4 March of the Penguins (La Marche de l'empereur) $133,276,359 2005 Charles Berling Emperor penguin of Antarctica [8][9]
5 Space Station 3D* $128,363,881 2002 Tom Cruise International Space Station [10]
6 Everest* $127,990,128 1998 Liam Neeson Mount Everest [11][12]
7 To Fly!* $120,700,000 1976 Thomas McGrath History of aviation in the U.S. [13]
8 Earth $108,975,160 2009 Patrick Stewart Diversity of wild habitats and creatures across the planet [14]
9 Deep Sea 3D* $105,779,761 2006 Johnny Depp Sea life [15][16]
10 Oceans $86,787,530 2009 Pierce Brosnan Marine species of Earth's five oceans [17][18]
11 Hubble* $74,249,729 2010 Leonardo DiCaprio Repair and update of the Hubble Space Telescope [19]
12 Amazing China (Li hai le, wo de guo) $72,506,344 2018 N/a China during Xi Jinping's tenure from a Chinese perspective [20]
13 The Dream Is Alive* $70,000,000‡ 1985 Walter Cronkite NASA's Space Shuttle program [21]
14 Dolphins* $69,600,000 2000 Pierce Brosnan Dolphins [22]
15 Antarctica* $66,070,389 1991 Alex Scott Antarctica [23]
16 The Living Sea* $64,800,000‡ 1995 Meryl Streep Marine biology/oceans (conservation) [24]
17 Bowling for Columbine $58,008,423 2002 Michael Moore Gun violence and causes of Columbine High School massacre (Moore perspective) [25]
18 In Search of Noah's Ark $55,700,000‡ 1976 N/a Alleged resting place of Noah's Ark [26]
19 To the Limit* $53,000,000 1989 N/a Effects of intense physical activity on the human body [27]
20 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure* $50,728,163 2007 Liev Schreiber Prehistoric marine reptiles [28][29]
21 An Inconvenient Truth $49,782,012 2006 N/a Global warming [30]
22 Under the Sea* $48,059,141 2009 N/a A look at the underwater of Indo-Pacific areas / Impact of global warming on the oceans [31]
23 Born to Be Wild* $47,309,175 2011 Morgan Freeman Orphaned orangutans and elephants [32][33]
24 Mysteries of Egypt* $44,703,731 1998 Howard Carter's discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922 [34]
25 This Is Cinerama* $41,600,000‡ 1952 Lowell Thomas Demonstration of the Cinerama film format [35]
26 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D* $40,339,402 2005 Tom Hanks Apollo program (first humans on the Moon) [36]
27 Encounter in the Third Dimension* $40,102,213 1999 Harry Shearer Fictional characters describe the history and technology of 3-D movies [37]
28 Galapagos* $40,070,358 1999 Carole Baldwin (marine biologist, Smithsonian Institution) and her first trips to Galapagos Islands [38]
29 Winged Migration $39,134,983 2001 Jacques Perrin
Philippe Labro		 Bird migration [39]
30 Chimpanzee $36,834,823 2012 Tim Allen Common chimpanzee named "Oscar" [40][41]
31 Sicko $36,093,504 2007 Michael Moore Healthcare in the U.S. (health insurance and pharmaceutical industry) [42]
32 Woodstock $34,699,266‡ 1970 Woodstock Festival, 1969 [43]
33 My Love, Don't Cross That River $34,100,278 2014 76-year marriage of a South Korean couple [44]
34 2016: Obama's America $33,449,086 2012 Barack Obama [45]
35 Wild Safari: A South African Adventure* $32,446,750 2005 Real-life safari experience in South Africa following a scientist and tracker in search of the "Big Five" [46]
36 Justin Bieber's Believe $32,226,781 2013 N/a Justin Bieber [47]
37 Seven Wonders of the World* $32,100,000‡ 1956 Natural and man-made wonders [35]
38 Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun* $31,279,211 1997 Fun parks (imagination of movement) [48]
39 African Cats $30,857,747 2011 Samuel L. Jackson
Patrick Stewart		 Lions and cheetahs in the African savannah [49]
40 Cinerama Holiday* $29,600,000‡ 1955 Travel [35]
41 Bugs!* $29,445,226 2003 Insects in Borneo's rainforest [50]
42 Free Solo $29,390,279 2018 Alex Honnold in his route to free solo climb on El Capitan [51]
43 Ghosts of the Abyss* $28,742,313 2003 Bill Paxton Expedition staged by James Cameron and others to the Wreck of the RMS Titanic [52]
44 Beavers* $26,400,000‡ 1988 Earl Pennington Beavers [35]
45 Twenty Two $26,289,378 2017 Chinese women (200,000 estimated) forced into prostitution by the Japanese army during WWII. [53]
46 Ocean Wonderland* $25,977,417 2003 Underwater environment [54]
47 Extreme* $25,956,582 2003 6 extreme sports: big wave surfing, ice climbing, skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing and rock climbing. [55]
48 Chariots of the Gods (Erinnerungen an die Zukunft) $25,900,000‡ 1970 Heinz-Detlev Bock (various) Extraterrestrial life [56][35]
49 A Beautiful Planet* $25,520,273 2016 Jennifer Lawrence Astronaut crews aboard the space station for fifteen months / Distinctive views of Earth [57]
50 Born in China $25,081,168 2016 John Krasinski (various) Snow leopard "Dawa", monkey "Tao Tao", a giant female panda "Ya Ya" and a herd of chiru [58]
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Nature documentaries

More information Rank, Title ...
Nature documentaries that surpassed $20 million[4]
Rank Title Lifetime gross Year Ref.(s)
1 March of the Penguins (La Marche de l'empereur) $133,276,359 2005 [8][59]
2 Earth $108,975,160 2009 [60]
3 Deep Sea 3D $105,779,761 2006 [15][61]
4 Oceans $86,787,530 2009 [17][62]
5 Dolphins $69,600,000 2000 [22]
6 Antarctica $66,070,389 1991 [23]
7 The Living Sea $64,800,000‡ 1995 [24]
8 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure $50,728,163 2007 [28][29]
9 Under the Sea $48,059,141 2009 [63]
10 Born to be Wild $47,309,175 2011 [32][64]
11 Galapagos $40,070,358 1999 [38]
12 Winged Migration $39,134,983 2001 [39]
13 Chimpanzee $36,834,823 2012 [65][41]
14 Wild Safari $32,446,750 2005 [66]
15 African Cats $30,857,747 2011 [49]
16 Bugs! $29,445,226 2003 [67]
17 Beavers $26,400,000‡ 1988 [35]
18 Ocean Wonderland $25,977,417 2003 [68]
19 A Beautiful Planet $25,520,273 2016 [57]
20 Born in China $25,081,168 2016 [69]
21 To the Arctic 3D $23,695,388 2012 [70]
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Space

More information Rank, Title ...
Space documentaries that surpassed $15 million as of May 2025[4]
Rank Title Lifetime gross Year Ref.(s)
1 Space Station 3D $128,363,881 2002 [10]
2 Hubble $74,249,729 2010 [19]
3 The Dream Is Alive $70,000,000‡ 1985 [21]
4 Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D $40,339,402 2005 [36]
5 A Beautiful Planet $25,520,273 2016 [57]
6 Blue Planet $22,800,000‡ 1990 [35]
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Highest-grossing documentaries by year

Drive-in advertisement for Woodstock (1970), highest-grossing documentary film on that year, and one of the top-grossing overall
More information Year, Title ...
Yearly highest-grossing documentaries (according to The Numbers)[71]
Year Title Total gross
2025 Becoming Led Zeppelin $16,155,729[72]
2024 Am I Racist? $12,311,598‡[73]
2023 Beijing 2022 (北京 2022) $24,790,100[74]
2022 Moonage Daydream $13,910,491[75]
2021 The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness $16,894,562[76]
2020 Break the Silence: The Movie $10,670,308[77]
2019 Bring the Soul: The Movie $12,984,708[78]
2018 Amazing China (Li hai le, wo de guo) $72,506,344[20]
2017 Twenty-Two $25,733,825[79]
2016 A Beautiful Planet $25,520,273[57]
2015 Amy $23,778,585[80]
2014 My Love, Don't Cross That River $34,100,278[44]
2013 Justin Bieber's Believe $32,226,781[47]
2012 Chimpanzee $36,834,823[41]
2011 Born to be Wild $47,309,175[32]
2010 Oceans $86,787,530[17]
2009 Michael Jackson's This Is It $261,183,588[81]
2008 Dolphins and Whales Tribes of the Ocean $17,252,287[82]
2007 Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure $50,728,163[29]
2006 Deep Sea 3D $105,779,761[15]
2005 March of the Penguins (La Marche de l'empereur) $133,276,359[8]
2004 Fahrenheit 9/11 $222,446,882[7]
2003 Winged Migration $39,134,983[39]
2002 Space Station 3D $128,363,881[10]
2001 Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure $19,667,161[83]
2000 Dolphins $69,600,000[22]
1999 Encounter in the Third Dimension $40,102,213[37]
1998 Everest $127,990,128[11]
1997 Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun $31,279,211[48]
1996 Microcosmos $6,973,842[84]
1995 The Living Sea $64,800,000‡[24]
1994 Hoop Dreams $11,768,371[85]
1993 Black Diamond Rush $1,634,386[86]
1992 Daddy and the Muscle Academy $109,513‡[87]
1991 Antarctica $66,070,389[23]
1989 To the Limit $53,000,000[27]
1988 Beavers $26,400,000‡[35]
1987 Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll $719,323‡[88]
1986 Stripper $39,065‡[89]
1985 The Dream Is Alive $70,000,000‡[21]
1984 Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets $239,000,000[6]
1983 Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars $382,234[90]
1982 It Came from Hollywood $2,091,037‡[91]
1981 This Is Elvis $429,146‡[92]
1980 In Search of Historic Jesus $22,000,000‡[93]
1979 Dirt $9,200,000‡[94]
1978 Beyond and Back $23,800,000‡[95]
1977 In Search of Noah's Ark $55,700,000‡[26]
1976 To Fly! $120,700,000[13]
1973 Chariots of the Gods (Erinnerungen an die Zukunft) $25,900,000‡[56][35]
1972 Five Summer Stories[96] N/a


1970 Woodstock $34,699,266‡[43]
1969 Muhammad Ali: The Greatest N/a
1967 Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back N/a
1966 The Endless Summer $20,000,000[97]
1964 Belarmino[98] N/a
1956 Seven Wonders of the World $32,100,000‡[35]
1955 Cinerama Holiday $29,600,000‡[35]
1952 This Is Cinerama $41,600,000‡[35]
1927 The Epic of Everest $133,823[99]
1922 The Great White Silence $85,214[100]
1919 South $66,676[101]
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References

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