Skip to content
What's After the Movie?

Jump to
What's After the Movie?
Documentary box office · January 2016

Documentary Box Office, January 2016: Top-Grossing Releases

Doing Good (2016) is the highest-grossing documentary movie released in January 2016, with $2M worldwide, ahead of Tale of a Lake (2016) at $1.7M and Landslide (2016) at $940.9K. 12 documentary films released in January 2016 report a worldwide gross, $5.3M in all, 28% of it from the US & Canada. That is down 1% on December 2015, whose releases took $5.3M. By language, Norwegian leads with $2M across 1 documentary release.

January 2016 releases with a gross
12
combined worldwide
$5.3M
Doing Good (2016), the #1
$2M
vs December 2015
−1%
Doing Good (2016) movie poster #1 of 12
#1 documentary movie of January 2016

Doing Good (2016)

2016 · Documentary

$2M worldwide · 37% of the chart's total

No US & Canada figure reported
Top 5

What Were the Biggest Documentary Hits of January 2016?

Doing Good (2016) leads with $2M, 37% of the total. The top 5 together took $5.2M, 97% of what all 12 films earned. Each bar splits a film's gross into the US & Canada and the rest of the world.

  1. Doing Good (2016) movie poster Number 1
    $2M Doing Good (2016)
    No US & Canada figure reported
  2. Tale of a Lake (2016) movie poster Number 2
    $1.7M Tale of a Lake (2016)
    No US & Canada figure reported
  3. Landslide (2016) movie poster Number 3
    $940.9K Landslide (2016)
    $940.9K US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
  4. Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) movie poster Number 4
    $365.5K Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)
    $355.1K US & Canada · 97% $10.5K elsewhere · 3%
  5. Requiem for the American Dream (2016) movie poster Number 5
    $130.2K Requiem for the American Dream (2016)
    $130.2K US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%

US & Canada (domestic) Rest of the world

The chart

Every Documentary Release of January 2016, Ranked by Worldwide Gross

Lifetime worldwide grosses in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation; domestic means the US & Canada. Films are grouped by their release date in January 2016.

  1. 1 Doing Good (2016) movie poster
    Doing Good (2016) Jan 22, 2016 · Norwegian · Documentary $2M worldwide
    Jan 22, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $2M
  2. 2 Tale of a Lake (2016) movie poster
    Tale of a Lake (2016) Jan 15, 2016 · Finnish · Documentary $1.7M worldwide
    Jan 15, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $1.7M
  3. 3 Landslide (2016) movie poster
    Landslide (2016) 2016 · Ukrainian · Documentary $940.9K worldwide
    2016 US and Canada: $940.9K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $940.9K
  4. 4 Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) movie poster
    Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) Jan 25, 2016 · English · Documentary, Music $365.5K worldwide
    Jan 25, 2016 US and Canada: $355.1K Rest of the world: $10.5K Worldwide: $365.5K
  5. 5 Requiem for the American Dream (2016) movie poster
    Requiem for the American Dream (2016) Jan 29, 2016 · English · Biography, Documentary $130.2K worldwide
    Jan 29, 2016 US and Canada: $130.2K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $130.2K
  6. 6 Innocence of Memories (2016) movie poster
    Innocence of Memories (2016) Jan 29, 2016 · English · Documentary $59.2K worldwide
    Jan 29, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $59.2K
  7. 7 Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016) movie poster
    Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016) Jan 8, 2016 · English · Biography, History, Documentary $38.6K worldwide
    Jan 8, 2016 US and Canada: $29.5K Rest of the world: $9.1K Worldwide: $38.6K
  8. 8 Belmondo by Belmondo (2016) movie poster
    Belmondo by Belmondo (2016) Jan 3, 2016 · French · Documentary $13.1K worldwide
    Jan 3, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $13.1K
  9. 9 Zen for Nothing (2016) movie poster
    Zen for Nothing (2016) Jan 22, 2016 · Documentary $12.1K worldwide
    Jan 22, 2016 US and Canada: $12.1K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $12.1K
  10. 10 Jim: The James Foley Story (2016) movie poster
    Jim: The James Foley Story (2016) Jan 28, 2016 · English · Documentary $8.2K worldwide
    Jan 28, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $8.2K
  11. 11 The Bad Kids (2016) movie poster
    The Bad Kids (2016) Jan 22, 2016 · English · Documentary $6.2K worldwide
    Jan 22, 2016 US and Canada: $6.2K Rest of the world: Worldwide: $6.2K
  12. 12 Porn to Be Free (2016) movie poster
    Porn to Be Free (2016) Jan 30, 2016 · Italian · Documentary, History $3.6K worldwide
    Jan 30, 2016 US and Canada: – Rest of the world: – Worldwide: $3.6K
US & Canada vs the world

Where Did the Money Come From in January 2016?

Of the top 10, Landslide (2016) earned the biggest share at home (100% in the US & Canada), while Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016) made 24% of its gross abroad. Across all 12 films, $1.5M (28%) came from the US & Canada. 5 films of the top 10 report no US & Canada figure.

  1. 1 Doing Good (2016) $2M
    No US & Canada figure reported
  2. 2 Tale of a Lake (2016) $1.7M
    No US & Canada figure reported
  3. 3 Landslide (2016) $940.9K
    $940.9K US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
  4. 4 Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) $365.5K
    $355.1K US & Canada · 97% $10.5K elsewhere · 3%
  5. 5 Requiem for the American Dream (2016) $130.2K
    $130.2K US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
  6. 6 Innocence of Memories (2016) $59.2K
    No US & Canada figure reported
  7. 7 Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016) $38.6K
    $29.5K US & Canada · 76% $9.1K elsewhere · 24%
  8. 8 Belmondo by Belmondo (2016) $13.1K
    No US & Canada figure reported
  9. 9 Zen for Nothing (2016) $12.1K
    $12.1K US & Canada · 100% elsewhere · 0%
  10. 10 Jim: The James Foley Story (2016) $8.2K
    No US & Canada figure reported
Gross bands

How Many January 2016 Releases Crossed $100 Million?

None of the 12 films reached $100M. 12 films, 100% of the list, earned under $10M. Each band shows its films and its share of the $5.3M total.

  • $1B or more 0 films, 0% of the list No films
  • $500M to $1B 0 films, 0% of the list No films
  • $100M to $500M 0 films, 0% of the list No films
  • $10M to $100M 0 films, 0% of the list No films
  • Under $10M 12 films, 100% of the list $5.3M · 100% of the gross
By release week

Which Week of January 2016 Had the Biggest Releases?

Films released in week 4 (Jan 17–23) took $2M, led by Doing Good (2016). Each column links to that week's chart; weeks are Sunday to Saturday.

  1. Week 1 Wk 1 Jan 1–2 Landslide (2016) $940.9K Landslide (2016)
  2. Week 2 Wk 2 Jan 3–9 Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016) $51.7K Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art (2016)
  3. Week 3 Wk 3 Jan 10–16 Tale of a Lake (2016) $1.7M Tale of a Lake (2016)
  4. Week 4 Wk 4 Jan 17–23 Doing Good (2016) $2M Doing Good (2016)
  5. Week 5 Wk 5 Jan 24–30 Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016) $566.7K Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)
  6. Week 6 Wk 6 Jan 31–Feb 6 No reported grosses – No reported grosses
Earlier years

How Does January 2016 Compare With January in Earlier Years?

Of these 10 years, January 2008 earned the most: $24.6M from 11 films, led by U2 3D (2008). January 2016 took $5.3M.

Month Films Worldwide Change Biggest film
January 2007 9 films 9 $2.6M – The Wonder of It All (2007) $781K
January 2008 11 films · +840% 11 $24.6M +840% U2 3D (2008) $22.7M
January 2009 10 films · −56% 10 $10.8M −56% OceanWorld 3D (2009) $8.7M
January 2010 10 films · −86% 10 $1.5M −86% In Search of Memory (2010) $1.1M
January 2011 3 films · −79% 3 $310.5K −79% Phil Ochs: There But for Fortune (2011) $263.7K
January 2012 8 films · +1321% 8 $4.4M +1321% Documentary of AKB48 Show Must Go On (2012) $4M
January 2013 11 films · −59% 11 $1.8M −59% 56 Up (2013) $701.3K
January 2014 11 films · −57% 11 $770.1K −57% David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive (2014) $298.1K
January 2015 10 films · +373% 10 $3.6M +373% Meru (2015) $2.3M
January 2016 12 films · +45% 12 $5.3M +45% Doing Good (2016) $2M
By language

Which Languages Do the Biggest Documentary Movies Speak in January 2016?

Norwegian-language documentary films took $2M across 1 film, 37% of the total, ahead of Finnish-language documentary films ($1.7M) and Ukrainian-language documentary films ($940.9K).

January 2016 Documentary Box Office by Language

  1. Norwegian $2M
    1 film · #1 Doing Good (2016)
  2. Finnish $1.7M
    1 film · #1 Tale of a Lake (2016)
  3. Ukrainian $940.9K
    1 film · #1 Landslide (2016)
  4. English $607.9K
    6 films · #1 Eat That Question: Frank Zappa in His Own Words (2016)
  5. French $13.1K
    1 film · #1 Belmondo by Belmondo (2016)
  6. Italian $3.6K
    1 film · #1 Porn to Be Free (2016)
Archive

Documentary Box Office in 2016, Month by Month

The months of 2016 with their totals: April leads with $34.1M, led by A Beautiful Planet (2016).

FAQ

Documentary Box Office January 2016: Questions & Answers

The chart's numbers in short: the #1 film, the total, the billion-dollar hits and the US & Canada share, answered from the same 12 films as the chart.

What is the highest-grossing documentary movie in January 2016?

Doing Good (2016) leads with $2M worldwide. Next come Tale of a Lake (2016) at $1.7M and Landslide (2016) at $940.9K.

How much did documentary movies released in January 2016 earn?

12 documentary films released in January 2016 report a worldwide gross, $5.3M in all, or $441.6K per film on average. December 2015 releases took $5.3M.

How many documentary movies released in January 2016 made $1 billion?

None. The biggest, Doing Good (2016), earned $2M.

How much of the January 2016 Documentary box office came from the US and Canada?

$1.5M of the $5.3M total, or 28%, was earned in the US & Canada (the domestic market); the rest came from other countries. 6 films of the 12 report no domestic figure.

How is the January 2016 documentary box office chart ranked and where do the numbers come from?

Films are ranked by lifetime worldwide gross in US dollars, not adjusted for inflation, and grouped by their release date in January 2016. The figures are the reported box office grosses in our database. A gross that looks misattributed, such as one figure shared by two unrelated films or a blockbuster total on an obscure title, is left out rather than shown as a fact.

How often is the January 2016 documentary box office chart updated?

Grosses change while films are in theaters and whenever a new figure is reported; this chart reads the latest numbers in our database, so an older film can still move after a re-release.