Market Charts > 2004 > Sources > Based on Real Life Events

Domestic Box Office Performance for Based on Real Life Events Movies in 2004

← 2003 Summary for all Years 2005 →
RankMovieRelease
Date		 GenreMPAA
Rating		2004 GrossTickets Sold
1 Fahrenheit 9/11 Jun 23, 2004 Documentary R $119,114,517 19,181,082
2 The Terminal Jun 18, 2004 Drama PG-13 $77,073,959 12,411,266
3 Ray Oct 29, 2004 Drama PG-13 $71,611,065 11,531,572
4 Miracle Feb 6, 2004 Drama PG $64,378,093 10,366,843
5 Walking Tall Apr 2, 2004 Action PG-13 $46,213,824 7,441,840
6 Monster Jan 30, 2004 Drama R $34,244,004 5,514,332
7 Alexander Nov 24, 2004 Action R $34,000,304 5,475,089
8 Open Water Aug 6, 2004 Horror R $30,500,882 4,911,575
9 Calendar Girls Dec 19, 2003 Comedy PG-13 $28,495,504 4,588,648
10 The Aviator Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $24,300,000 3,913,043
11 The Alamo Apr 9, 2004 Western PG-13 $22,406,362 3,608,110
12 NASCAR: The IMAX Experience Mar 12, 2004 Documentary PG $19,558,397 3,149,500
13 The Motorcycle Diaries Sep 24, 2004 Drama R $15,724,900 2,532,190
14 Super Size Me May 7, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $11,529,368 1,856,581
15 What the #$'! Do We Know Feb 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $10,091,903 1,625,105
16 Bugs! (IMAX) Mar 14, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $9,636,369 1,551,750
17 Space Station Apr 19, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $9,598,551 1,545,660
18 Adrenaline Rush: The Scienc… Oct 18, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $8,909,046 1,434,628
19 Pulse: A Stomp Odyssey Oct 11, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $7,760,025 1,249,601
20 To Be and To Have Sep 17, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $7,108,319 1,144,657
21 Kinsey Nov 12, 2004 Drama R $6,734,321 1,084,431
22 Against the Ropes Feb 20, 2004 Drama PG-13 $5,881,504 947,102
23 Touching the Void Jan 23, 2004 Documentary R $4,593,598 739,710
24 The Fog of War Dec 19, 2003 Documentary PG-13 $4,003,566 644,697
25 Control Room May 21, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,589,616 417,007
26 My Architect Nov 14, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $2,411,926 388,394
27 Riding Giants Jul 9, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $2,276,368 366,565
28 Beyond the Sea Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $1,917,756 308,817
29 The Corporation Jan 17, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $1,879,301 302,625
30 Therese Oct 1, 2004 Drama PG $1,775,292 285,876
31 Ghosts of the Abyss Apr 11, 2003 Documentary G $1,322,679 212,991
32 Metallica: Some Kind of Mon… Jul 9, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $1,222,708 196,893
33 Festival Express Jul 23, 2004 Concert/Perfor… R $1,172,345 188,783
34 Saints and Soldiers Aug 6, 2004 Drama PG-13 $1,141,221 183,771
35 Fade to Black Nov 5, 2004 Documentary R $728,802 117,359
36 Radio Oct 24, 2003 Drama PG $720,308 115,992
37 Going Upriver: The Long War… Oct 1, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $613,252 98,752
38 Tarnation Oct 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $478,112 76,990
39 The Last Shot Sep 24, 2004 Comedy R $463,730 74,675
40 Hotel Rwanda Dec 22, 2004 Drama PG-13 $426,803 68,728
41 Outfoxed - Rupert Murdoch's… Aug 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $405,900 65,362
42 Still, We Believe: The Bost… May 7, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $396,803 63,897
43 End of the Century: The Sto… Aug 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $391,950 63,116
44 Broadway: The Golden Age, b… Jun 11, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $341,493 54,991
45 Callas Forever Nov 5, 2004 Drama Not Rated $330,760 53,262
46 America's Heart and Soul Jul 2, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $314,000 50,564
47 Bukowski: Born Into This May 28, 2004 Documentary R $311,431 50,150
48 Mayor of the Sunset Strip Mar 26, 2004 Documentary R $257,315 41,436
49 This Old Cub Mar 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $253,531 40,826
50 The Agronomist Apr 23, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $226,189 36,423
51 Tibet - Cry of the Snow Lion Sep 19, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $210,317 33,867
52 Imelda Jun 11, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $200,992 32,366
53 The Yes Men Sep 24, 2004 Documentary R $198,975 32,041
54 Guiana 1838 Sep 24, 2004 Drama Not Rated $192,900 31,063
55 Uncovered: The Whole Truth … Aug 13, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $190,424 30,664
56 Lost Boys of Sudan Feb 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $182,839 29,443
57 Bush's Brain Aug 20, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $176,610 28,440
58 De fem benspaend May 28, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $150,966 24,310
59 Mar adentro Dec 17, 2004 Drama PG-13 $142,474 22,942
60 Lightning in a Bottle Oct 22, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $136,367 21,959
61 Shattered Glass Oct 31, 2003 Drama PG-13 $129,176 20,801
62 Dig Oct 1, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $127,067 20,462
63 L.O.C. (Kargil) Dec 25, 2003 Drama Not Rated $116,803 18,809
64 Howard Zinn Jun 18, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $116,230 18,717
65 In the Face of Evil Oct 1, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $110,577 17,806
66 Yves St. Laurent Jan 7, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $97,092 15,635
67 Carlos Castaneda: Enigma of… Mar 5, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $94,848 15,273
68 Aileen: Life and Death of a… Jan 9, 2004 Documentary R $85,992 13,847
69 Encounter in the Third Dime… Feb 26, 1999 Documentary Not Rated $78,181 12,589
70 Yossi & Jagger Sep 24, 2003 Drama R $76,889 12,381
71 Word Wars May 28, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $76,481 12,316
72 Guerrilla: The Taking of Pa… Nov 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $72,933 11,744
73 The Weather Underground Jun 6, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $70,507 11,354
74 In the Realms of the Unreal Dec 24, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $70,465 11,347
75 Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh… Oct 22, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $69,084 11,124
76 Bright Leaves Aug 27, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $62,474 10,060
77 Proteus Aug 5, 2005 Documentary R $62,031 9,989
78 Voices of Iraq Oct 29, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $57,102 9,195
79 Divan Mar 19, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $56,214 9,052
80 The Assassination of Richar… Dec 29, 2004 Drama R $55,255 8,897
81 Born Into Brothels: Calcutt… Dec 8, 2004 Documentary R $55,045 8,863
82 Ônibus 174 Oct 8, 2003 Documentary R $53,398 8,599
83 Hiding and Seeking Feb 6, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $51,091 8,227
84 This So-Called Disaster Apr 21, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $45,195 7,278
85 Paper Clips Nov 24, 2004 Documentary G $42,311 6,813
86 Tom Dowd and the Language o… Aug 13, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $40,238 6,480
87 Power Trip Mar 12, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $38,593 6,215
88 Tying the Knot Oct 1, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $37,464 6,033
89 Incident at Loch Ness Sep 17, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $36,830 5,931
90 Beyond the Gates of Splendor Nov 5, 2004 Documentary PG-13 $36,412 5,863
91 Emerald Cowboy Sep 19, 2003 Drama R $28,048 4,517
92 Bonhoeffer Jun 20, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $27,158 4,373
93 WMD: Weapons of Mass Deception Dec 3, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $21,843 3,517
94 S-21: The Khmer Rouge Death… May 19, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $21,678 3,491
95 Orwell Rolls in His Grave Jul 23, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $19,257 3,101
96 People Say I'm Crazy Apr 30, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $15,679 2,525
97 Crutch Sep 17, 2004 Drama Not Rated $14,189 2,285
98 A Letter to True Sep 8, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $13,835 2,228
99 Party Monster Aug 29, 2003 Comedy R $13,089 2,108
100 Freestyle: The Art of Rhyme Jul 16, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $11,255 1,812
101 Let's Get Frank Jul 14, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $9,385 1,511
102 Girlhood Oct 31, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $8,935 1,439
103 I'll Sing for You Mar 26, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $8,798 1,417
104 With All Deliberate Speed May 14, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $4,920 792
105 Rivers and Tides Jun 28, 2002 Documentary Not Rated $4,048 652
106 Venus Boyz Aug 22, 2003 Documentary Not Rated $3,371 543
107 Brothers in Arms Aug 27, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $3,270 527
108 The Life and Times of Allen… Aug 20, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,668 430
109 Moog Sep 24, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,227 359
110 Still, the Children are Here Nov 5, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,210 356
111 Saints and Sinners Jun 18, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $2,167 349
112 Shwaas Dec 10, 2004 Drama Not Rated $1,042 168
113 Jesus, You Know Dec 3, 2004 Documentary Not Rated $604 97
114 The Hillside Strangler Sep 24, 2004 Horror R $306 49
Total Gross of All Movies$701,982,796
Total Tickets Sold113,040,698

Note: This chart ranks movies by the amount they earned during 2004. It includes movies released in previous years that earned money during 2004. For example, a movie released over Thanksgiving in 2010 will most likely earn money in 2010 and 2011. Click on the individual movie to see its total gross over all the years in which it played.

Inflation-adjusted figures are based ticket sale estimates, and may not be precise due to rounding errors.

Our Theatrical Market pages are based on the Domestic Theatrical Market performance only. The Domestic Market is defined as the North American movie territory (consisting of the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam).

The yearly amounts on our Theatrical Market pages are based on box office years. Each box office year starts on the first Monday of the year, so the previous year ends on the Sunday before the first Monday. For example, the "2017 box office year" started on January 2, 2017 so the "2016 box office year" ended on Sunday, January 1, 2017.