Michael Jackson’s This Is It is the highest-grossing documentary in a worldwide ranking whose table is dated May 2025. It reports a lifetime box-office gross of $267,983,588, ahead of Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets and Fahrenheit 9/11. These are reported theatrical grosses—not profits, inflation-adjusted totals, or measures of streaming audiences.
Highest-grossing documentaries: the top nine
The following figures are worldwide lifetime grosses in the ranking’s table labeled “as of May 2025.” The ranking says nearly all reported figures come from Box Office Mojo and The Numbers. Film grosses can change with rereleases or database revisions, so the cutoff and source matter.
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| Rank | Film | Release year | Reported worldwide gross | Subject or format note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael Jackson’s This Is It | 2009 | $267,983,588 | Concert-residency rehearsals |
| 2 | Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets | 1984 | $239,000,000 | Grand Canyon; premium large-format/IMAX-oriented |
| 3 | Fahrenheit 9/11 | 2004 | $222,446,882 | George W. Bush’s presidency and the Iraq War |
| 4 | March of the Penguins | 2005 | $133,276,359 | Emperor penguins in Antarctica |
| 5 | Space Station 3D | 2002 | $128,363,881 | International Space Station; premium large-format |
| 6 | Everest | 1998 | $127,990,128 | Mount Everest; premium large-format |
| 7 | To Fly! | 1976 | $120,700,000 | History of aviation in the United States; premium large-format |
| 8 | Earth | 2009 | $108,975,160 | Wildlife and habitats around the planet |
| 9 | Deep Sea 3D | 2006 | $105,779,761 | Sea life; premium large-format |
These are the nine entries above $100 million in the May 2025 table. The table’s amounts are presented as worldwide gross receipts; they do not show how much a film earned after production, distribution, and exhibition costs.
Why This Is It is first—and why lists can differ
The reviewed ranking places Michael Jackson’s This Is It first at $267,983,588. Guinness World Records also identifies it as the highest-grossing documentary, but gives a different total: $252,091,016 (£186,405,000) worldwide as of 11 January 2018, attributing that figure to The Numbers. The two totals use different reporting dates and should not be treated as competing figures for the same cutoff.
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The same date issue appears for Fahrenheit 9/11: the May 2025 table reports $222,446,882, while Guinness’s displayed historical list gives $221,148,959. Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets is listed at $239,000,000 in both. A ranking is most useful when read with its date and source rather than as a permanent record of a film’s receipts.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What counts as a documentary here?
The ranking says it includes some hybrid documentary films and excludes performance movies such as concert films. Yet its top-ranked title, This Is It, documents rehearsals for a concert residency. That makes the boundary worth noting: a film about preparing a performance may be classified as a documentary, while a concert film centered on the performance itself may be excluded. Documentary rankings can use different classification rules, so “highest-grossing documentary” is not a perfectly uniform category across every list.
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How to read the ranking
- Worldwide gross: The figures are reported box-office receipts, not profit or the amount returned to filmmakers.
- Not adjusted for inflation: The ranking does not put older releases and newer ones on an inflation-adjusted basis.
- Not ticket admissions: A dollar gross does not tell you how many tickets were sold, and prices vary by market and time.
- Theatrical, not streaming: These figures do not measure streaming views or other non-theatrical audiences.
- Cutoff-sensitive: Rereleases and database revisions can alter lifetime totals; the cited table is labeled May 2025.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
