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“The History of Concrete” passed the $1 million mark at the box office on Saturday, becoming the highest-grossing documentary released on stage in 2026. It reached the milestone after just 16 days in theaters.
Magnolia’s “The History of Concrete” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered much attention for its creator, John Wilson, star of the cult favorite HBO series “How To with John Wilson.” The film explores urbanism and architecture and lives up to its title by recounting the history of concrete in an absurdist way (Wilson tries to make the film in the style of a Hallmark movie).
“The History of Concrete” grossed just over $450,000 from 160 screens over the weekend, putting its total just north of $1.2 million. That’s a huge number for a documentary and a testament to the fan base Wilson has developed.
“The History of Concrete” already broke records at the IFC Center, becoming the second highest-grossing tour behind “Parasite.” Last week, Magnolia saw strong numbers for the film in many markets, including earning $47,510 at Music Box in Chicago, $34,534 at BAM in Brooklyn, and $24,653 at the Balboa, a small neighborhood theater in San Francisco. Low Cinema, a theater that Wilson operates in Ridgewood, Queens, has sold out all showings of “History of Concrete” through the end of October. The majority of the audience at the art houses were mostly younger filmgoers, with the same drive-thru cinemas returning this year.
“The History of Concrete” has yet to match the amount of other documentaries this year that ended up on many more screens. “Melania,” Brett Ratner’s gripping exploration of the life of First Lady Melania Trump, filled the MAGA faithful to the tune of $16.7 million. That would be a strong result if Amazon MGM Studios hadn’t shelled out $40 million to buy the film and tens of millions more to market it. The dubious price tag suggested there may have been more to Jeff Bezos’ mind than just a love of non-fiction filmmaking. President Donald Trump later said he and his wife made $10.71 million in license fees from the deal. America, right?
Neon also scored with “EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert,” which opened across 325 Imax theaters (not as a stage release like “The History of Concrete”) and ended up earning $23.5 million worldwide and $13.6 million domestically. In its second weekend, “EPiC” played in 1,963 theaters. “Melania” opened over 1,778 screens.
In terms of documentaries released in a platform instead of going wider first, Kino Lorber’s “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” earned $773,430, the independently released “Steal This Story, Please!” grossed $750,077, while Watermelon Pictures’ “American Doctor” earned $556,703.
The success of “The History of Concrete” is good news for Magnolia, which also had a big hit last summer with John Early’s directorial debut, “Maddie’s Secret.”
