Skip to content
CineRank

Best Documentary Movies of All Time

This collection ranks 79,513 Documentary movies. The list is ranked using a weighted combination of audience ratings, vote volume and popularity data, so movies with only a handful of votes never outrank widely acclaimed films. At the top of the list is David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet.

79,513 qualifying moviesRanked using a weighted combination of ratings, vote volume and popularity data

  4. 4

    Senna

    2010· 1h 46m· en

    8.11.2K
  7. 7

    Human

    2015· 3h 11m· fr

    8.4310
  8. 8

    Baraka

    1992· 1h 37m· en

    8.2693
  10. 10

    Samsara

    2011· 1h 42m· en

    8.1694
  12. 12

    Ennio

    2022· 2h 36m· it

    8.3385
  13. 13

    The Cove

    2009· 1h 32m· en

    8.0690
  16. 16

    Free Solo

    2018· 1h 40m· en

    7.91.6K
  17. 17

    Inside Job

    2010· 1h 49m· en

    7.71.1K
  20. 20

    For Sama

    2019· 1h 40m· en

    8.3313
  28. 28

    Shoah

    1985· 9h 26m· fr

    8.2223
  31. 31

    13th

    2016· 1h 40m· en

    7.8804
  33. 33

    Apollo 11

    2019· 1h 33m· en

    7.9721
  35. 35

    Sicko

    2007· 2h 3m· en

    7.4759
  38. 38

    Flee

    2021· 1h 29m· da

    7.7404
  44. 44

    Earthlings

    2005· 1h 35m· en

    8.1344

Related collections

Frequently asked questions

How many qualifyingmovies are in this list?

79,513 movies with real rating data match this collection.

How are these movies ranked?

By a weighted score combining audience ratings, vote volume and popularity. Movies with very few votes are statistically shrunk toward the global average, so they cannot dominate the top of the list.

Which movie is ranked #1?

David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet currently holds the top position in this collection.

How often is this list updated?

Rankings are recalculated whenever the underlying movie data changes.