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 CINEMA INDUSTRY  arrow bullet  Top films: Top documentaries of all time
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Top documentaries in Australia released up to 31 December 2007 ranked by total reported gross Australian box office (in current dollars, i.e. not adjusted for inflation); Australian films listed in bold

Large-format films dominate the top Australian documentaries at the Australian box office.

There are two Australian-made IMAX titles in the all-time top 20 to December 2007: Antarctica and Africa’s Elephant Kingdom. The most successful non-IMAX Australian documentary is Bra Boys, which has grossed $1,698,976 since its release in March 2007.

Next update January 2009

Rank Title Distributor Release date Box office ($)1

1

Fahrenheit 9/11 Hopscotch 29 Jul 2004 $8,404,378

2

Everest IMAX 18 Mar 1998 $6,334,124

3

Space Station 3D IMAX 6 Jun 2002 $5,193,927

4

Extreme IMAX (CPL/Extreme) 18 Mar 1999 $5,152,785

5

Bowling for Columbine Icon/Hopscotch 26 Dec 2002 $4,852,301

6

Deep Sea 3D IMAX 6 Apr 2006 $4,708,001

7

Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss IMAX 4 Sep 2003 $4,477,494

8

Mysteries of Egypt IMAX (CPL/Destin) 21 Jan 1999 $4,360,769

9

March of the Penguins Roadshow 30 Mar 2006 $4,345,437

10

Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure IMAX 1 Nov 2001 $4,241,364

11

Antarctica IMAX 26 Sep 1996 $4,234,376

12

An Inconvenient Truth UIP/Paramount 14 Sep 2006 $4,117,170

13

Wild Safari 3D IMAX 9 Jun 2005 $3,523,133

14

Africa’s Elephant Kingdom IMAX 21 May 1998 $3,491,995

15

Africa: The Serengeti IMAX 20 Mar 1997 $3,391,716

16

Touching the Void Hopscotch 24 Jun 2004 $3,080,689

17

The Living Sea IMAX 26 Sep 1996 $3,078,803

18

Super Size Me Dendy 3 Jun 2004 $2,907,204

19

Galapagos IMAX 11 Nov 1999 $2,806,830

20

The Travelling Birds Hopscotch 19 Jun 2003 $2,564,215

21

New York: Across the Sea of Time (3D) IMAX/Sony 26 Oct 1997 $2,405,904

22

In Bed with Madonna Columbia 13 Jun 1991 $2,241,064

23

Ocean Wonderland 3D IMAX 14 Dec 2004 $2,206,130

24

Amazon IMAX 11 Dec 1997 $2,072,236

25

Bugs in 3D IMAX 10 Apr 2003 $1,912,692

26

Dinosaurs 3D: Giants of Patagonia IMAX 7 Jun 2007 $1,895,642

27

Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun IMAX/Sony 21 Jul 1997 $1,851,622

28

Special Effects IMAX 26 Sep 1996 $1,816,905

29

Alaska IMAX 3 Sep 1998 $1,731,065

30

Bra Boys Hopscotch 15 Mar 2007 $1,698,976

31

Buena Vista Social Club Dendy 23 Dec 1999 $1,696,381

32

Sharks 3D IMAX 5 May 2005 $1,583,140

33

Into the Deep (3D) IMAX 7 May 1998 $1,538,043

34

Dolphins IMAX 13 Apr 2000 $1,526,728

35

The Real Cancun Roadshow 10 Jul 2003 $1,480,393

36

Microcosmos New Vision 4 Jun 1997 $1,421,834

37

What the Bleep Do We Know!? Hopscotch 14 Apr 2006 $1,356,679

38

The Story of the Weeping Camel Dendy 30 Sep 2004 $1,338,989

39

Spellbound Hopscotch 13 Nov 2003 $1,069,322

40

Woodstock Warner Bros 1 Aug 1970 $1,068,000

41

To Be and To Have Palace 29 Apr 2004 $1,053,219

42

The Human Body IMAX 28 Feb 2002 $1,041,667

43

Sea Monsters 3D: A Prehistoric Adventure IMAX 27 Sep 2007 $1,027,150

44

When We Were Kings Polygram 10 Apr 1997 $1,013,186

45

Sicko Roadshow 9 Aug 2007 $972,853

46

Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon IMAX 20 Oct 2005 $966,145

47

Blue Planet IMAX 29 Jan 1998 $902,049

48

Mission to Mir IMAX 9 Jun 1997 $897,805

49

Aliens of the Deep IMAX 10 Mar 2005 $832,314

50

Adrenaline Rush IMAX 8 May 2003 $805,009

51

Australia: Land Beyond Time IMAX 6 Mar 2003 $803,717

52

42 Up Dendy 1 Jul 1999 $790,000

53

Sydney: A Story of a City IMAX 19 Aug 1999 $694,853

54

Deep Blue Hopscotch 9 Dec 2004 $654,791

55

U2: Rattle and Hum UIP/Paramount 3 Nov 1988 $634,254

56

Nascar 3D IMAX 2 Sep 2004 $621,655

57

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History Ronin 29 Feb 1988 $613,910

58

49 Up Dendy 3 Aug 2006 $607,914

59

Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Dendy 16 Sep 2004 $599,402

60

35 Up Rep 29 Aug 1991 $584,886

61

A Queen Is Crowned Greater Union 1 July 1951 $572,000

62

The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich UIP 1 Jan 1969 $571,000

63

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room Dendy 13 Oct 2005 $565,612

64

Ballets Russes Hopscotch 18 May 2006 $563,159

65

Roar: Lions of the Kalahari IMAX 17 May 2004 $561,693

66

Whales IMAX 3 Sep 1998 $557,954

67

Mystic India IMAX 9 Feb 2006 $540,790

68

The Corporation Gil Scrine Films 2 Sep 2004 $528,729

69

Mad Hot Ballroom Icon 29 Sep 2005 $514,498

70

Wings of Courage IMAX/Sony 21 May 1998 $497,315

71

The Fog of War Columbia TriStar 18 Mar 2004 $476,164

72

Coral Reef Adventure IMAX 19 Dec 2004 $474,786

73

Billabong Odyssey Icon 25 Mar 2004 $460,184

74

Warren Miller's Coldfusion Warren Miller 23 May 2002 $446,833

75

One Day in September Dendy 31 Aug 2000 $445,691

76

Unfolding Florence: The Many Lives of Florence Broadhurst Dendy 24 Aug 2006 $429,243

77

Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag IMAX 11 Aug 2005 $424,612

78

Olympic Glory IMAX 16 Sep 1999 $424,317

79

Forbidden Lie$ Palace 13 Sep 2007 $401,027

80

Step into Liquid Rialto 15 Jun 2004 $393,403

81

Forces of Nature IMAX 11 Oct 2004 $390,936

82

Sacred Sex Premium 14 Nov 1991 $381,844

83

The Filth and the Fury Dendy 29 Jun 2000 $374,815

84

Neil Young: Heart of Gold UIP/Paramount 11 May 2006 $366,870

85

Capturing the Friedmans Dendy 25 Mar 2004 $362,980

86

Latcho Drom Potential 25 May 1995 $362,854

87

God on My Side Hopscotch 2 Nov 2006 $355,120

88

Warren Miller’s Journey Warren Miller 27 May 2004 $352,413

89

Lions 3D IMAX 15 Feb 2007 $328,689

90

Standing in the Shadows of Motown Hopscotch 30 Jan 2003 $328,598

91

Sex: The Annabel Chong Story Potential 29 Jun 2000 $321,662

92

Warren Miller’s Impact Warren Miller 25 May 2005 $313,471

93

Warren Miller’s Storm Warren Miller 22 May 2003 $305,448

94

Warren Miller’s Higher Ground Warren Miller 24 May 2006 $304,810

95

Greece: Secrets of the Past IMAX 8 Jun 2006 $304,464

96

Vincent:
The Life and Death of Vincent Van Gogh
Roadshow 8 Oct 1987 $301,205

97

Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man Roadshow 1 Feb 2007 $301,101

98

Journey into Amazing Caves IMAX 28 Feb 2002 $298,500

99

Grand Canyon IMAX 3 Sep 1998 $287,456

100

In Search of Mozart Gil Scrine 9 Feb 2006 $283,461

Source: Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (MPDAA), Nielsen EDI (Australia) and Ronin; compiled by the Australian Film Commission (AFC).

Notes:
World Safari 2: Adventure Bound (released 1984) is not included as national box office figures are unavailable.
1. Cumulative box office, reported on 25 January 2008 in current dollars (i.e. not adjusted for inflation). These figures may include revised MPDAA box office earnings.

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