Documentary Movies Index

The table below lists the top-grossing Documentary movie released in each calendar year (based on worldwide box office). Click on the year number for a list of all the Documentary films released that year. The "Annual Stats" links will take you to a summary of the domestic film business for Documentary movies for the year in question (this part of our archive starts in 1995). Click on the movie name to see information on the individual film.

Year	Annual Stats	Total Movies	Average Production Budget	Combined Worldwide Box Office	No. 1 Movie
TBD		149
2029		1
2027		1
2025	Annual Stats	129		$1,086,251	Pino Daniele - Nero a metà
2024	Annual Stats	957	$3,000,000	$104,013,409	Am I Racist?
2023	Annual Stats	1,051	$5,000,000	$86,469,261	Beijing 2022 (北京 2022)
2022	Annual Stats	849	$350,000	$62,730,674	Moonage Daydream
2021	Annual Stats	751	$3,400,000	$60,439,445	Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain
2020	Annual Stats	783		$67,975,538	Break the Silence: The Movie
2019	Annual Stats	780	$250,000	$148,595,528	Bring the Soul: The Movie
2018	Annual Stats	718	$1,893,040	$302,548,831	Li hai le, wo de guo
2017	Annual Stats	650	$622,714	$162,787,684	Twenty-Two
2016	Annual Stats	551	$4,681,250	$182,779,572	A Beautiful Planet
2015	Annual Stats	450	$468,333	$133,463,773	Amy
2014	Annual Stats	264	$914,818	$131,408,844	My Love, Don't Cross That River
2013	Annual Stats	262	$814,286	$89,053,741	Justin Bieber’s Believe
2012	Annual Stats	218	$1,420,833	$177,770,676	Chimpanzee
2011	Annual Stats	194	$1,292,000	$188,998,043	Born to be Wild 3D
2010	Annual Stats	177	$15,466,667	$231,803,355	Oceans
2009	Annual Stats	112	$17,662,500	$484,748,099	Michael Jackson's This Is It
2008	Annual Stats	140	$2,445,833	$102,036,147	Dolphins and Whales Tribes of the Ocean 3D
2007	Annual Stats	105	$3,533,333	$109,534,459	Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure
2006	Annual Stats	106	$1,067,727	$216,789,709	Deep Sea 3D
2005	Annual Stats	92	$947,344	$278,525,818	La marche de l'empereur
2004	Annual Stats	91	$2,095,000	$339,360,836	Fahrenheit 9/11
2003	Annual Stats	54	$6,383,333	$231,655,788	Winged Migration
2002	Annual Stats	29	$933,333	$245,435,899	Space Station
2001	Annual Stats	15		$25,378,577	Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure
2000	Annual Stats	28	$7,000,000	$99,664,514	Dolphins
1999	Annual Stats	29	$437,500	$151,629,916	Encounter in the Third Dimension
1998	Annual Stats	19		$240,345,936	Everest
1997	Annual Stats	13		$36,299,005	Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun
1996	Annual Stats	12		$17,144,082	Microcosmos
1995	Annual Stats	13		$76,304,410	The Living Sea
1994		4	$700,000	$15,543,503	Hoop Dreams
1993		3		$464	Vale Abraão
1992		3		$116,195	Daddy and the Muscle Academy: The Life, Art and Times of Tom of Finland
1991		8		$70,253,781	Antarctica
1990		4
1989		5	$140,000	$59,741,191	To the Limit
1988		5		$5,069,109	Imagine: John Lennon
1987		4		$774,913	Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll
1986		4		$39,065	Stripper
1985		10		$75,925,775	The Dream is Alive
1984		7		$239,023,465	Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
1983		5		$645,331	Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars
1982		7		$2,113,330	It Came From Hollywood
1981		5		$442,124	This is Elvis
1980		2		$22,000,000	In Search of Historic Jesus
1979		7	$170,000	$12,937,413	Dirt
1978		3		$23,800,000	Beyond and Back
1977		6		$55,851,006	In Search of Noah's Ark
1976		7		$120,736,923	To Fly!
1975		4		$32,270	Torre Bela
1974		6		$26,328,764	Erinnerungen an die Zukunft
1973		3
1972		3		$699	Five Summer Stories
1971		3		$13,082	Le chagrin et la pitié
1970		7	$600,000	$34,764,015	Woodstock
1969		3		$20,073	Muhammad Ali: The Greatest
1968		2		$49,342	The Queen
1967		3		$27,158	Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back
1965		4		$28,812	Io la conoscevo bene
1964		2		$885	Belarmino
1963		2		$7,257	Mahanagar
1962		1
1961		1
1960		2		$105,953	Jazz on a Summer’s Day
1959		1		$10,203	India: Matri Bhumi
1958		1
1957		3		$92,055	Le mystère Picasso
1955		3		$11,500,487	Galapagos
1954		1
1953		2
1950		1
1934		1
1929		1		$3,956	Chelovek s kino-apparatom
1927		1		$133,826	The Epic of Everest
1926		1		$2,993	Moana
1922		2		$85,214	The Great White Silence
1919		1		$66,676	South
1918		1		$9,685	Godovshchina revolyutsii
Total	9,960	$3,090,593	$5,565,075,224	Michael Jackson's This Is It

The table below shows the highest-grossing Documentary movie that begins with each letter of the alphabet. Click on the name of the film to go to its page. Or click on the letter at the beginning of each row for a list of all the Documentary movies beginning with that letter.

Index	Total Movies	Average Production Budget	Combined Worldwide Box Office	No. 1 Movie
(	1
0	1		$44,559	0,03 Seconds
1	51		$5,189,644	1950 Ta Men Zheng Nian Qing
2	29	$1,750,000	$44,842,663	2016: Obama’s America
3	16		$1,290,361	35 Up
4	10	$900,000	$855,125	42 Up
5	18	$350,000	$1,143,101	56 Up
6	4		$483,685	63 Up
7	11		$123,969	78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene
8	6	$2,500,000	$215,743	‘85 The Greatest Team in Football History
9	9		$82,973	93Queen
A	641	$1,394,444	$288,434,141	Antarctica
B	732	$645,000	$431,253,719	Bowling for Columbine
C	611	$3,550,000	$157,136,639	Chimpanzee
D	463	$1,917,143	$395,887,691	Deep Sea 3D
E	349	$23,612,500	$423,184,609	Everest
F	427	$2,091,083	$319,134,550	Fahrenheit 9/11
G	388	$875,000	$367,830,536	Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets
H	390	$3,280,000	$132,937,054	Hubble 3D
I	401	$1,027,083	$245,860,371	In Search of Noah's Ark
J	201		$94,441,488	Justin Bieber’s Believe
K	204		$38,803,468	Kang rinpoche
L	470	$6,000,000	$188,629,495	Li hai le, wo de guo
M	737	$8,353,358	$748,148,893	Michael Jackson's This Is It
N	244	$2,000,000	$64,291,987	NASCAR: The IMAX Experience
O	273	$14,516,667	$129,336,323	Oceans
P	481	$1,028,333	$139,922,617	Pina
Q	54		$3,515,781	The Queen of Versailles
R	419	$1,485,000	$116,113,455	Red Dog
S	881	$2,046,611	$471,820,252	Space Station
T	488	$930,769	$396,757,456	To Fly!
U	189	$625,000	$58,480,676	Under the Sea 3D
V	178	$933,333	$24,168,231	Visages villages
W	440	$5,371,429	$245,097,175	Winged Migration
X	12		$4,865,179	Xuan feng jiu ri
Y	87		$22,657,678	Yves St. Laurent
Z	44		$2,093,937	Zheng qi