LOS ANGELES (CelebrityAccess) “Free Solo,” the National Geographic documentary of one man’s quest to climb Yosemite’s El Capitan without a harness, has reached a milestone, becoming the second-highest grossing documentary of 2018.
The movie, which is a frontrunner for the Academy Awards’ best documentary feature award, is a harrowing account of Alex Honnold, a free soloist climber, as he attacks one of the most challenging climbs in nature – the 3,000-foot El Capitan without using any gear. It just surpassed “RBG,” Magnolia Pictures and Participant Media’s feature of Supreme Court Justice Roth BAder Ginsberg to become the second-highest grossing film of the year, according to Variety.
“Free Solo” grossed $1.38 million in its 19th weekend of release, bringing its total to $14.98 million. It has generated $1.6 million in the United Kingdom, where it is the biggest doc of last year, Variety said. Nothing comes close to the frontrunner, the Fred Rogers biopic “Won’t You Be My Neighbor,” which has grossed more than $22 million.
“I love that the golden age of documentaries is not just relegated to the small screen. If there were ever a film to be seen on the big screen, it’s ‘Free Solo,’” Courteney Monroe, president of National Geographic Global Networks, told the trade mag. “It’s such an immersive and visceral experience that it almost gives you vertigo. You feel like you’re right there with Alex.”
Also in the running is the documentary “Three Identical Strangers,” which has grossed $12.3 million.
Meanwhile, 2019 is already shaping up to be a stellar year for documentaries, with movies like “Leaving Neverland” grabbing worldwide headlines, and Peter Jackson’s acclaimed “They Will Not Grow Old,” which colorizes WWI footage and turns it into 3D, hitting the theatres a few days ago.
