NEWS

2008: The year of the music documentary?

At the U.S. box office, so far 2008 is shaping up to be a big year for music films. As director AJ Schnack, whose documentary Kurt Cobain: About a Son played at MOFFOM last year, reports in his blog, three of the top four money-making nonfiction films this year are music docs: the live extravaganza U23D; Martin Scorsese’s Rolling Stones concert film Shine a Light; and Young@Heart, about a senior citizens’ choir that performs alternative rock songs. All three have already surpassed USD 1 million in ticket sales; in 2007 only three documentaries earned more than that all year.