Four months after leaving this planet, Michael Jackson returned to the screen, and This Is It, directed by Kenny Ortega, earned $34,492,926 in its first five days of release, surpassing Earth, the big hit from DisneyNature, to take over the number one spot in among docs at the box office. Whether the King of Pop can take out the all-time reigning champ, Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911 , in This Is It's second and final week in the theaters remains to be seen.
But one of the real unsung success stories of 2009 is Aviva Kempner's Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, the profile of pioneering television and radio star Gertrude Berg. Since its July 10th release through International Film Circuit, the film has been touring the country, with the indefatigable Kempner ensuring that those who grew up watching and listening to Berg would come out to see her again on the big screen. As the filmmaker was quoted in indieWIRE in a statement, "After four months of traveling around with the film all over America, I am thrilled that Berg is no longer ‘the most famous woman in America that you've never heard of,' thanks to InFC's fine handling of the film. It also proves that docs that appeal to older audiences like The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg can be commercial successes. Never underestimate the interests of senior citizens, even though they pay less for a movie!!!"
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg has earned $1,029,982 to date. Kempner's previous film, The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg, took in $1,712,385. For a Documentary Online article about Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg, click here.
Here are the top 11 highest grossing docs of 2009. I count Waltz with Bashir among the 11, even though it was released in the last week of 2008.
1) Michael Jackson's This Is It $34,442,926
2) Earth $32,011,576
3) Capitalism: A Love Story $13,664,911
4) Food, Inc. $ 4,410,116
5) The September Issue $ 3,590,087
6) Good Hair $ 3,453,044
7) Waltz with Bashir $ 2,283,849
8) Valentino: The Last Emperor $ 1,755,134
9) Every Little Step $ 1,725,141
10) It Might Get Loud $ 1,523,776
11) Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg $ 1,029,982