All these wonderful things

SENNA Breaks UK Box Office Records for Documentary

[Editor's note - We're pleased to welcome Charlotte Cook to the blog as she writes from London about the astounding success of Asif Kapadia's SENNA documentary in the UK.]

Director Asif Kapadia's SENNA has broken the record for the highest grossing opening weekend for a documentary in British history. Taking £375,000 (approx $614,000) after opening on Friday 3rd June, it knocks the previous record holder TOUCHING THE VOID off the top spot which opened in 2004 to a weekend gross of $96,973.

Produced by Working Title Films/Universal the film has won Audience awards at this this year's Sundance and LA Film Festivals. Told entirely through archive and voice over, the film chronicles three-time Brazilian world champion Ayrton Senna‘s extraordinary rise through Formula One racing to his tragic death at thirty-four in the San Marino Grand Prix in 1994.

Smash Doc BILL CUNNINGHAM Gets Ready to Take It on the Road

BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK, the much-buzzed-about documentary about the octogenarian New York street/fashion photographer that has been setting box office records at New York's Film Forum, is set to test the waters around the country this weeked.  Openings in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Missouri and Rhode Island - along with adding additional theaters in the New York and Los Angeles markets - are the first step in a planned expansion that could ultimately bring the film to more than 100 theaters in the US.

In fact, the film is poised to become Zeitgeist's highest grossing documentary since 2004's THE CORPORATION.  The company is well known for being perhaps the most important distributor of prestige docs (THE OATH, LAST TRAIN HOME, TROUBLE THE WATER, UP THE YANGTZE), but they rarely have had a pop breakout like BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK.

The opening at NY's Film Forum was a true sensation, grossing nearly $50K in its five-day opening, which proved a record for the landmark downtown art house.  BCNY topped the previous record holder, VALENTINO: THE LAST EMPEROR, by a sizable amount - VALENTINO took in $33K in it's first 5-day frame.  VALENTINO, which was self-distributed through Truly Indie and Vitagraph, ultimately took in more than $1.75M.

Bigger Than Michael?: BieberDoc Becomes Highest Grossing Concert/Music Film of All Time

According to weekend box office estimates, the Justin Bieber 3D documentary NEVER SAY NEVER has now inched past MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT to become the highest grossing music or concert documentary of all time.  NEVER is now estimated to have grossed $72.2M through Sunday, while the postumous Jackson film tapped out at $72.1.  NEVER, which was directed by Jon Chu, was released by Paramount; THIS IS IT was distributed by Sony in October 2009.  Official figures will be released tomorrow.

NEVER SAY NEVER now sits just half a million behind JACKASS: NUMBER TWO (another Paramount title) at number five on the all time nonfiction chart.  The number three film, MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, looks safe in its position with $77.4M, as the Bieber doc is shedding screens and ticket sales with each week.

BIEBER Doc Hits $68 Million, #6 All-Time, Spawns Wild Oscar Forecasting

JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER, the year's first docbuster, is wrapping up its 4th weekend in theaters, now positioned as the #6 highest grossing nonfiction feature of all time.  NEVER took in another (estimated) $4.3M since Friday and is set to close in on the $70M range by next weekend. 

That would put the film in the company of the three films that currently reside at #3-5 on the all-time chart: MARCH OF THE PENGUINS ($77M), JACKASS: NUMBER TWO ($73M) and MICHAEL JACKSON THIS IS IT ($72M).

The success of NEVER and the surprising positive reaction it spawned from some in the documentary world (Oscar winner Davis Guggenheim was even set to direct the film for a while), has led to some fairly fun back and forth on Twitter and elsewhere - but apparently some are starting to wonder if NEVER has what it takes to go all the way to the Oscars next year.

In a bizarre and fact-free article in the Hollywood Reporter, Shirley Halperin hears "from a source" that buzz from the various Oscar parties suggest that NEVER could be a serious contender for next year's Doc Feature Oscar:

“You’d be surprised at the caliber of people who came up to Justin at the Vanity Fair party at the Sunset Tower, most of whom had seen the movie and loved it,” says an insider. “There was even talk of putting it up for an Oscar next year in the documentary category. People appreciate that it’s not just a kids’ movie.” (THR’s Bill Higgins also noted Bieber was the star who awed the other stars at the Vanity Fair bash. The young singer would chat with someone and the buzz would immediately be: “What is Mick Jagger talking to Justin Bieber about?”)

Belieb It! Justin Bieber's 3D Concert Doc #2 Nonfiction Opening Weekend All Time

WIth estimates of the $30M weekend, the new Paramount 3D concert documentary JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER jumped onto the list of the top 10 nonfiction features of all time (it currently stands at #8) and is now the number two concert film ever, behind MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT.

The weekend take is the second highest weekend gross for a nonfiction film in history, after last year's JACKASS 3D, which was also distributed by Paramount.  For comparison, THIS IS IT had a $23M opening weekend (although it launched on a Wednesday and had already banked $13M by the time the weekend arrived).  JACKASS 3D opened with an astounding $50M back in October.

NEVER SAY NEVER was directed by John Chu (who had previous worked on Disney's STEP UP movies).  Chu replaced Academy Award winner Davis Guggenhim, who had been attached to the project but dropped out reportedly to focus on the release of WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN'.  Coincidentally, the film that NEVER SAY NEVER knocks out of the top ten all-time is Guggenheim's AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH.

JACKASS 3D Becomes 2nd Nonfiction Feature to Cross $100M at Box Office

Over the weekend, Jeff Tremaine’s JACKASS 3D became the second nonfiction film to surpass the blockbuster $100M mark at the North American theatrical box office.  In just 17 days of release, the film has grossed $101,657,558 and still has an outside chance to top Michael Moore’s FAHRENHEIT 9/11 to become the highest grossing nonfiction film in history.

By comparison, FAHRENHEIT took 32 days to get to $100M, but was still making more per day on its 17th day in theaters, suggesting that the anti-Bush film had a longer theatrical tail than JACKASS 3D is currently. 

Further, if it’s not obvious, there’s no question that FAHRENHEIT will have sold more tickets by the end of its run – the 3D surcharge and higher ticket prices is certainly boosting JACKASS’ bottom line.  That doesn’t necessarily make FAHRENHEIT the king of ticket sales – it’s unclear just how much money (and how many tickets) WOODSTOCK made when it was released in 1970, but that film’s numerous re-issues and box office success at the time suggest that it might have attracted more eyeballs.

JACKASS Keeps Rolling but FAHRENHEIT Keeps the Monday Record

After a record-smashing weekend, Jeff Tremaine's JACKASS 3D continued its box office success on Monday, taking in another $4,448, 427 to extend its total to $54M.  But for those who are wondering if JACKASS can ultimately top Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11 as the top nonfiction grosser of all time, it's interesting to note that JACKASS' Monday total comes shy of FAHRENHEIT's Monday gross - $5,745,082.

A couple caveats: that Monday gross came on July 5, 2004, arguably part of a long holiday weekend.  However, that Monday was also FAHRENHEIT's 11th day of wide release and was an indication that the Moore film had long box office legs.  Will JACKASS have the same staying power?

This week JACKASS will do battle with another sequel, one with potentially the same audience (and coming from the same studio) - PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 2.

 

A $50M Weekend for JACKASS 3D? Best Nonfiction Debut Ever, #6 All Time. Can It Top FAHRENHEIT?

WIth a mammoth opening weekend estimated at $50M dollars, Jeff Tremaine's JACKASS 3D sent a ballistic missile to the crotch of all previous nonfiction film box office records, easily and decisively becoming the most successful launch of a nonfiction feature in history.

The $50M take - and what's one or two million, give or take - will top the previous record holder, JACKASS: NUMBER TWO, by $20M.  For perspective, that $20M difference alone is a greater haul at the box office than all but ten nonfiction features in history.

Already, JACKASS 3D stands as the 6th highest grossing nonfiction film in history (see our all time chart here), where it joins both previous JACKASS films, making the series the most successful nonfiction film trilogy ever. 

Two questions now - will JACKASS 3D become the second nonfiction feature to surpass $100M at the box office and will the film eventually top Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11?  Each of the previous JACKASS films was able to triple its opening weekend box office.  If JACKASS 3D could do the same, it would easily surpass FAHRENHEIT.

JACKASS 3D Scores Biggest Nonfiction Box Office Day Ever, Nearly Doubling Previous Record

JACKASS 3D, the third film in a series featuring outrageous and dangerous stunts, broke huge at the box office on Friday, taking in an estimated $21M+ in a single day.  It is, by a wide margin, the single day record for nonfiction films at the theatrical box office, nearly doubling the previous record holder - JACKASS: NUMBER TWO, which took in $11.2M in its opening day. 

The number makes it a near certainty that JACKASS 3D will destroy the previous records for highest nonfiction weekend and will become the first nonfiction film to gross more than $30M in its opening weekend.  The weekend record is currently held by JACKASS NUMBER TWO, which grossed $29M in its first three days back in 2006. 

Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (2004) grossed $23.92 in its opening weekend and last year's MICHAEL JACKSON'S THIS IS IT took in $23.24M last year.  The first JACKASS: THE MOVIE had an opening weekend of $22.76M in 2002.

 

SUPERMAN and CATFISH Kick Off the Packed, Fall Doc Box Office With a Bang

The fall, post-TIFF documentary box office is off-and-running as two Sundance premieres - Davis Guggenheim's WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN' and Ariel Schulman & Henry Joost's CATFISH - have dominated the specialty box office for the past two weekends.

CATFISH, which opened last weekend to a stunning $21,440 average on 12 screens, continued its winning ways this weekend as it more than quadrupled its theater count.  Now on 57 screens, the film averaged more than $8K per screen.  It will become the 6th nonfiction film to cross the magic $1M mark sometime this week.

The LA Weekly's Karina Longworth wrote about the film - which was picked up by Relativity Media - and, after noting some Park City confusion over CATFISH's "truthiness", she explored why the company is agressively trying to scrub the film of its documentary label, preferring instead to sell CATFISH as a "reality thriller":

"'I think the film is 100 percent a 'documentary,' " (Relativity's Ryan) Kavanaugh says, calling from vacation in Hawaii, his air quotes audible over the phone. That said, he adds, "You don't want to call it a 'documentary' because it doesn't really do it justice. The term documentary carries kind of a weird, artsy, negative connotation with it.'...

Rogue/Universal seem intent on scrubbing CATFISH of its indie-doc roots. They held the film back from the festival circuit after Sundance, and have an aggressive release strategy. A special effort has been made to avoid booking CATFISH in traditional art houses, planting it instead at upscale multiplexes alongside Hollywood fare, as if to dare the audience to spot the difference. It's a gamble built on the assumption that the masses who live their lives online will: (a) be receptive to a film that not only mirrors their behavior but warns against it; and (b) embrace it quickly and ardently enough to spread box office–boosting word of mouth. Meanwhile, the "Don't call it a documentary because people think documentaries are educational and boring" messaging seems to be at odds with the filmmakers' belief that Catfish has nutritive messages to impart to the youth of today."

Still, with strong critical notices (90% of Rotten Tomatoes "Top Critics" approve of the film at this writing) and comparisons to zeitgeist-y feature THE SOCIAL NETWORK, CATFISH has the potential to be a breakout documentary hit.  It's early numbers compare favorably to EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP, another Sundance title that has inspired a lot of "is-it-or-isn't it" conversation.

Meanwhile, this weekend belonged to Davis Guggenheim's WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN'.  Reports estimate that the film averaged more than $35K on each of its 4 screens - the top debut for a documentary this year and the best opening since last year's Michael Moore effort, CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY.  Buoyed by coverage on Oprah Winfrey and Meet the Press, the film - which takes on the American public school crisis and the often disfunctional teacher's unions - seems to have hit a cross-platform, bi-partisan nerve from reform.

Backed by the same folks who made Guggenheim's Oscar winning AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH - Paramount and Participant - the film didn't quite reach the stratospheric heights of TRUTH's debut, but if these numbers continue, 'SUPERMAN' could be the year's second $10M doc (OCEANS has crossed that threshold) and first to deal with issues.  Whether that makes Guggenheim a contender for his second Oscar, it's probably too early to tell.

Our Sundance coverage of CATFISH is here, while coverage of WAITING FOR 'SUPERMAN' can be found here.

Meanwhile, we've updated our chart of the top documentaries at the box office in 2010.  Summer additions include Amir Bar-Lev's THE TILLMAN STORY and Lucy Walker's COUNTDOWN TO ZERO.  Still to come in a jam-packed fall, doc line-up: Charles Ferguson's INSIDE JOB, Alex Gibney's CLIENT 9, the omnibus FREAKONOMICS and what is sure to be the biggest nonfiction title of 2010 - JACKASS 3D.