Box Office Records > Worldwide > All Movies > Genres > Top Documentary Worldwide
All Time Worldwide Box Office for Documentary Movies
See also: Top Documentary Domestic - Top Documentary International
Other Worldwide Genres records: Top Adventure Worldwide - Top Action Worldwide - Top Comedy Worldwide - Top Drama Worldwide - Top Thriller/Suspense Worldwide - Top Horror Worldwide - Top Romantic Comedy Worldwide - Top Musical Worldwide
This chart contains the top 100 Documentary movies based on the cumulative worldwide box office.
See our Documentary Theatrical Market Charts for more overviews regarding the domestic theatrical box office performance of Documentary movies.
| Rank | Released | Movie | Worldwide Box Office |
Domestic Box Office |
International Box Office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2009 | Michael Jackson’s This Is It | $261,183,588 | $72,091,016 | $189,092,572 |
| 2 | 1984 | Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets | $239,000,000 | $52,800,000 | $186,200,000 |
| 3 | 2004 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | $221,148,959 | $119,114,517 | $102,034,442 |
| 4 | 2005 | La Marche de L’empereur | $133,276,359 | $77,437,223 | $55,839,136 |
| 5 | 1998 | Everest | $127,990,128 | $87,178,599 | $40,811,529 |
| 6 | 2002 | Space Station | $126,513,186 | $93,231,060 | $33,282,126 |
| 7 | 1976 | To Fly! | $120,700,000 | $86,600,000 | $34,100,000 |
| 8 | 2009 | Earth | $116,773,317 | $32,011,576 | $84,761,741 |
| 9 | 2006 | Deep Sea 3D | $105,779,761 | $64,001,579 | $41,778,182 |
| 10 | 1998 | Mysteries of Egypt | $90,000,000 | $40,593,286 | $49,406,714 |
| 11 | 2010 | Oceans | $86,787,530 | $19,422,319 | $67,365,211 |
| 12 | 2018 | Li hai le, wo de guo | $72,506,344 | $72,506,344 | |
| 13 | 1985 | The Dream is Alive | $70,000,000 | $70,000,000 | |
| 14 | 2000 | Dolphins | $69,600,000 | $54,000,000 | $15,600,000 |
| 15 | 2010 | Hubble 3D | $68,535,491 | $52,840,185 | $15,695,306 |
| 16 | 1991 | Antarctica | $66,070,389 | $65,000,000 | $1,070,389 |
| 17 | 1995 | The Living Sea | $64,800,000 | $64,800,000 | |
| 18 | 2002 | Bowling for Columbine | $58,240,487 | $21,576,018 | $36,664,469 |
| 19 | 1977 | In Search of Noah’s Ark | $55,700,000 | $55,700,000 | |
| 20 | 2006 | An Inconvenient Truth | $53,365,925 | $24,146,161 | $29,219,764 |
| 21 | 1989 | To the Limit | $53,000,000 | $53,000,000 | |
| 22 | 2007 | Sea Monsters: A Prehistoric Adventure | $50,728,163 | $23,746,066 | $26,982,097 |
| 23 | 2025 | Taylor Swift | The Official Release Party of a … | $50,062,774 | $34,062,774 | $16,000,000 |
| 24 | 2009 | Under the Sea 3D | $48,059,141 | $37,420,395 | $10,638,746 |
| 25 | 2011 | Born to be Wild 3D | $47,291,617 | $36,951,135 | $10,340,482 |
| 26 | 1999 | Encounter in the Third Dimension | $40,102,213 | $7,195,792 | $32,906,421 |
| 27 | 2005 | Magnificent Desolation | $39,846,896 | $34,126,126 | $5,720,770 |
| 28 | 2003 | Winged Migration | $39,134,983 | $11,689,053 | $27,445,930 |
| 29 | 2012 | Chimpanzee | $36,834,823 | $28,965,459 | $7,869,364 |
| 30 | 2007 | Sicko | $36,535,837 | $24,538,513 | $11,997,324 |
| 31 | 1970 | Woodstock | $34,699,266 | $34,505,110 | $194,156 |
| 32 | 2014 | My Love, Don\'t Cross That River | $34,100,278 | $88,018 | $34,012,260 |
| 33 | 2012 | 2016: Obama’s America | $33,349,941 | $33,349,941 | |
| 34 | 2005 | Wild Safari 3D | $32,446,750 | $16,621,230 | $15,825,520 |
| 35 | 2013 | Justin Bieber’s Believe | $32,226,781 | $6,206,566 | $26,020,215 |
| 36 | 1997 | Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun | $31,279,211 | $18,798,682 | $12,480,529 |
| 37 | 2003 | Bugs! (IMAX) | $29,196,944 | $19,084,280 | $10,112,664 |
| 38 | 2003 | Ghosts of the Abyss | $28,742,313 | $17,093,668 | $11,648,645 |
| 39 | 2018 | Free Solo | $28,605,995 | $17,541,090 | $11,064,905 |
| 40 | 1999 | Galapagos | $27,089,842 | $18,571,938 | $8,517,904 |
| 41 | 2003 | Ocean Wonderland | $25,977,417 | $25,977,417 | |
| 42 | 1999 | Extreme | $25,956,582 | $12,456,958 | $13,499,624 |
| 43 | 1974 | Erinnerungen an die Zukunft | $25,900,000 | $25,900,000 | |
| 44 | 2017 | Twenty-Two | $25,733,825 | $22,222 | $25,711,603 |
| 45 | 2016 | A Beautiful Planet | $25,506,941 | $15,650,615 | $9,856,326 |
| 46 | 2003 | Calendar Girls | $25,462,153 | $25,462,153 | |
| 47 | 2016 | Born in China | $25,037,743 | $13,873,211 | $11,164,532 |
| 48 | 2023 | Beijing 2022 (北京 2022) | $24,790,100 | $24,790,100 | |
| 49 | 2011 | Pina | $24,460,758 | $3,520,458 | $20,940,300 |
| 50 | 2002 | Adrenaline Rush: The Science of Risk | $23,970,431 | $16,933,791 | $7,036,640 |
| 51 | 1978 | Beyond and Back | $23,800,000 | $23,800,000 | |
| 52 | 2015 | Amy | $23,778,585 | $8,413,144 | $15,365,441 |
| 53 | 2012 | To the Arctic 3D | $23,680,745 | $19,159,071 | $4,521,674 |
| 54 | 2011 | African Cats | $22,946,607 | $15,428,747 | $7,517,860 |
| 55 | 2018 | Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | $22,847,659 | $22,835,787 | $11,872 |
| 56 | 2004 | Super Size Me | $22,233,808 | $11,529,368 | $10,704,440 |
| 57 | 2004 | NASCAR: The IMAX Experience | $22,199,356 | $21,550,235 | $649,121 |
| 58 | 2003 | To Be and To Have | $22,176,599 | $7,610,471 | $14,566,128 |
| 59 | 1980 | In Search of Historic Jesus | $22,000,000 | $22,000,000 | |
| 60 | 2018 | They Shall Not Grow Old | $21,656,913 | $17,956,913 | $3,700,000 |
| 61 | 1999 | Buena Vista Social Club | $19,809,190 | $6,997,620 | $12,811,570 |
| 62 | 2001 | Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure | $19,667,161 | $15,553,324 | $4,113,837 |
| 63 | 2004 | Deep Blue | $19,332,261 | $132,261 | $19,200,000 |
| 64 | 2000 | Michael Jordan to the MAX | $19,276,267 | $18,642,318 | $633,949 |
| 65 | 2009 | Capitalism: A Love Story | $19,121,531 | $14,363,397 | $4,758,134 |
| 66 | 2014 | Bears | $18,151,746 | $17,780,194 | $371,552 |
| 67 | 2008 | Dolphins and Whales Tribes of the Ocean 3D | $17,252,287 | $7,714,996 | $9,537,291 |
| 68 | 2015 | Monkey Kingdom | $17,159,530 | $16,432,322 | $727,208 |
| 69 | 2021 | The Arctic: Our Last Great Wilderness | $16,894,562 | $16,894,562 | |
| 70 | 2010 | Sea Rex 3D: Journey to a Prehistoric World | $16,515,203 | $6,096,582 | $10,418,621 |
| 71 | 2008 | Shine a Light | $16,173,879 | $5,505,267 | $10,668,612 |
| 72 | 2018 | Burn the Stage: The Movie | $16,145,694 | $16,145,694 | |
| 73 | 2020 | Red Dog | $15,788,420 | $15,788,420 | |
| 74 | 2016 | Kang rinpoche | $15,441,189 | $28,184 | $15,413,005 |
| 75 | 2003 | Touching the Void | $15,396,525 | $4,593,598 | $10,802,927 |
| 76 | 2002 | Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey | $15,384,390 | $10,086,514 | $5,297,876 |
| 77 | 2006 | Deutschland: Ein Sommermarchen | $14,700,000 | $14,700,000 | |
| 78 | 2012 | Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present | $14,663,001 | $86,637 | $14,576,364 |
| 79 | 2014 | The Salt of the Earth | $14,543,275 | $1,343,349 | $13,199,926 |
| 80 | 2013 | Journey to the South Pacific | $14,485,173 | $7,144,210 | $7,340,963 |
| 81 | 2018 | RBG | $14,445,571 | $14,051,361 | $394,210 |
| 82 | 2014 | America: Imagine a World Without Her | $14,444,502 | $14,444,502 | |
| 83 | 2005 | Sharks 3D | $14,000,000 | $8,500,000 | $5,500,000 |
| 84 | 2008 | Waltz with Bashir | $13,912,289 | $2,283,849 | $11,628,440 |
| 85 | 2022 | Moonage Daydream | $13,910,491 | $4,266,717 | $9,643,774 |
| 86 | 2008 | Religulous | $13,881,317 | $13,011,160 | $870,157 |
| 87 | 2018 | Io sono Tempesta | $13,748,817 | $13,748,817 | |
| 88 | 2011 | Plastic Planet | $13,568,699 | $3,164 | $13,565,535 |
| 89 | 2017 | Nomoohyeonibnida | $13,502,122 | $13,502,122 | |
| 90 | 1998 | Africa's Elephant Kingdom | $13,485,455 | $13,485,455 | |
| 91 | 2018 | Three Identical Strangers | $13,367,948 | $12,320,845 | $1,047,103 |
| 92 | 2025 | Becoming Led Zeppelin | $13,173,268 | $10,403,808 | $2,769,460 |
| 93 | 2016 | Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the De… | $13,099,931 | $13,099,931 | |
| 94 | 2019 | Bring the Soul: The Movie | $12,984,708 | $4,809,800 | $8,174,908 |
| 95 | 2012 | Searching for Sugar Man | $12,902,501 | $3,965,090 | $8,937,411 |
| 96 | 2005 | Aliens of the Deep | $12,765,684 | $8,968,684 | $3,797,000 |
| 97 | 2024 | Am I Racist? | $12,311,598 | $12,311,598 | |
| 98 | 2017 | Earth: One Amazing Day | $12,197,853 | $81,345 | $12,116,508 |
| 99 | 2014 | Island of Lemurs: Madagascar | $12,170,778 | $11,750,928 | $419,850 |
| 100 | 2010 | Babies | $12,146,819 | $7,320,323 | $4,826,496 |
This table is updated daily to reflect the latest studio reports.
Note: This chart is not adjusted for inflation.