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Top Grossing Documentary Movies in 2012

Rank Title Language Domestic Worldwide
1 Switch
English

UK

$0 $47,164,301
2 Chimpanzee
English

UK

$28,972,764 $34,823,764
3 2016: Obama's America
English

UK

$33,449,086 $33,449,086
4 Katy Perry: Part of Me
English

UK

$25,326,071 $32,726,956
5 To the Arctic
English

UK

$14,560,838 $23,695,388
6 The Green Wave
English

UK

$7,192,291 $12,666,449
7 Searching for Sugar Man
English

UK

$3,696,196 $9,380,680
8 Samsara
English

UK

$2,672,413 $4,426,444
9 Bully
English

UK

$4,142,648 $4,411,649
10 Nitro Circus: The Movie
English

UK

$3,377,618 $4,174,269
11 Marley
English

UK

$1,413,480 $3,842,919
12 A Man's Story
English

UK

$0 $3,839,316
13 The Imposter
English

UK

$898,317 $3,001,877
14 Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Japanese

JP

$2,552,478 $2,692,864
15 The Queen of Versailles
English

UK

$2,401,999 $2,495,706
16 First Position
English

UK

$1,014,071 $1,730,824
17 Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel
English

UK

$1,017,579 $1,721,472
18 Chasing Ice
English

UK

$1,328,467 $1,358,668
19 Trashed
English

UK

$0 $1,314,735
20 Burn
English

UK

$1,109,276 $1,109,276
21 Hecho en México
Spanish

ES

$151,133 $1,042,673
22 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
English

UK

$534,100 $881,661
23 Bill W.
English

UK

$809,590 $809,590
24 Gerhard Richter - Painting
German

DE

$242,646 $717,545
25 Shut Up and Play the Hits
English

UK

$510,334 $629,107
26 Undefeated
English

UK

$562,218 $583,844
27 The Flat
Hebrew

IL

$471,842 $583,443
28 Detropia
English

UK

$390,024 $390,024
29 Something from Nothing: The Art of Rap
English

UK

$288,000 $333,388
30 The Central Park Five
English

UK

$325,653 $325,653
31 West of Memphis
English

UK

$310,154 $318,317
32 The Sheik and I
English

UK

$42,172 $297,469
33 Dreams of a Life
English

UK

$8,405 $291,898
34 Crazy Horse
French

FR

$157,782 $252,894
35 The Waiting Room
English

UK

$244,951 $244,951
36 Neil Young Journeys
English

UK

$215,026 $221,082
37 Brooklyn Castle
English

UK

$219,407 $219,407
38 The House I Live In
English

UK

$210,752 $219,159
39 Somewhere Between
English

UK

$210,975 $210,975
40 Beware of Mr. Baker
English

UK

$116,476 $210,123
41 Whores' Glory
German

DE

$31,420 $197,932
42 The Art of Flight 3D
English

UK

$0 $158,532
43 Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present
English

UK

$86,637 $156,695
44 5 Broken Cameras
Hebrew

IL

$109,983 $146,475
45 The Other Dream Team
English

UK

$135,228 $135,228
46 Kumaré
Malayalam

ML

$132,160 $132,160
47 How to Survive a Plague
English

UK

$132,055 $132,055
48 How to Start a Revolution
English

UK

$132,055 $132,055
49 Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare
English

UK

$126,238 $126,238
50 Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story
English

UK

$112,679 $112,679

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