Top 50 Documentaries in United States
This curated ranking covers the 50 largest documentaries in United States, ordered by estimated audience size from Rascasse's anonymized search-behavior signals. Out of 54 documentaries tracked in United States, the 50 ranked here account for the largest measured audience reach. FRONTLINE, Inside Edition and Yves Saint Laurent (film) lead the list with a combined estimated audience of 7,744,591 people. Across all 50 entries the average audience size is 362,921, and the largest, FRONTLINE, reaches around 5,267,858 people in United States. Audience size is the estimated number of unique people in United States who actively engage with each documentary, derived from search demand signals. Rankings reflect search-behavior signals collected across United States and are refreshed weekly.
Ranking
| Rank | Name | Audience size | Country share | Subtype | Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FRONTLINE |
5,267,858 | 80.1% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 2 |  Inside Edition |
1,247,328 | 87.7% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 3 |  Yves Saint Laurent (film) |
1,229,405 | 8.6% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 4 |  Vice (TV series) |
972,994 | 32.8% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 5 |  POV (TV series) |
814,482 | 9.7% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 6 |  The Original Kings of Comedy |
716,703 | 78.7% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 7 |  Anime club |
695,911 | 24.6% | Documentary | Literature |
| 8 |  Pumping Iron |
619,393 | 53.4% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 9 |  Finding Your Roots |
602,365 | 71.5% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 10 |  Oddities (TV series) |
515,872 | 74.2% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 11 |  Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner |
483,351 | 63.7% | Documentary | Literature |
| 12 |  Silent Voices (2005 film) |
425,867 | 36.9% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 13 |  Hard Knocks |
385,658 | 83.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 14 |  Land and Sea |
346,959 | 74.6% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 15 |  Roadkill (Internet show) |
332,000 | 45.4% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 16 |  American Experience |
324,800 | 88.7% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 17 |  The Last Waltz |
316,846 | 68.4% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 18 |  Walking with Dinosaurs |
295,416 | 27.6% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 19 |  The Thin Blue Line (1988 film) |
265,226 | 46.9% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 20 |  Bowling for Columbine |
204,394 | 41.2% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 21 |  Restrepo (film) |
202,418 | 13.1% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 22 |  Pina (film) |
193,214 | 22.9% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 23 |  Earthling |
161,334 | 34.1% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 24 |  March of the Penguins |
138,757 | 49.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 25 |  Blue Planet |
128,834 | 27.3% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 26 |  Deadly Women |
125,062 | 36.3% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 27 |  The War Room |
112,420 | 73.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 28 |  Man on Wire |
101,421 | 34.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 29 |  The Blue Planet |
96,067 | 30.1% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 30 |  Scared Straight! |
94,256 | 84.3% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 31 |  Miss Representation |
94,254 | 74.5% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 32 |  A Football Life |
84,587 | 79.9% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 33 |  What the Bleep Do We Know!? |
81,628 | 36.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 34 |  The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus |
80,317 | 50.3% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 35 |  Aluna |
70,785 | 33.1% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 36 |  Hail Satan |
55,253 | 51.8% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 37 |  The Story of Stuff |
45,443 | 34.2% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 38 |  Racing Extinction |
45,265 | 85.5% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 39 |  Living Proof (film) |
31,387 | 22.4% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 40 |  I-Witness |
27,978 | 21.4% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 41 |  Elvis in Concert |
19,556 | 47.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 42 |  Vegucated |
19,551 | 48.9% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 43 |  Extreme Engineering |
14,167 | 30.2% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 44 |  Frozen Planet |
13,705 | 5.5% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 45 |  Light Fantastic (TV series) |
11,163 | 49.8% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 46 |  Seconds From Disaster |
10,931 | 35.2% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 47 |  GMO OMG |
9,179 | 73.3% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 48 |  The Acting Class |
7,572 | 37.5% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 49 |  Fahrenheit 9/11 |
3,579 | 100.0% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
| 50 |  Living with Wolves |
3,152 | 18.6% | Documentary | Movies & TV |
Frequently asked questions
How is this Top 50 list compiled?
Rascasse aggregates anonymized search-behavior signals across United States and ranks each documentary by its estimated audience size. Only entries with at least 5 measured entities are listed.
How often is the list updated?
The ranking is refreshed weekly from the latest search-behavior data and re-published as a static page.
What is the largest documentary in United States?
FRONTLINE currently leads with an estimated audience of 5,267,858 people in United States.
Methodology
Audience sizes are estimated from anonymized search-behavior signals across United States. Lists below 5 entries are not published. See methodology for full details.