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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.