OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH opened to £573,551 at the UK & Irish box office, the highest grossing opening for a nature documentary on record and the highest documentary opening of this decade in the UK & Ireland.
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH was also the widest released documentary ever in UK & Irish cinemas, playing in 580 sites.
Released in cinemas worldwide to coincide with Attenborough’s 99th birthday on 8 May, the critically acclaimed film received a special World Premiere in London on 6 May with both King Charles III and David Attenborough in attendance.
The film takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the ocean. Since its release, the film has sparked widespread conversation and public reaction to Attenborough’s powerful messages of hope and urgency around the health of the world’s ocean.
In a world-first, OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH features never-before-seen footage of bottom trawling and its devastating effects on our ocean. The footage has been championed by marine conservation charities, activists and influential voices across the globe as they call for stronger marine protection laws. It comes ahead of next month’s UN Ocean Conference in Nice, France, where world leaders will decide the fate of the ocean.
In the film, Attenborough reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing.
Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. Yet the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough pointing to inspirational stories from around the world to deliver his greatest message: the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen.
OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH has also overtaken Asif Kapadia’s BAFTA and Academy Award-winning AMY as Altitude’s biggest documentary opening, and also exceeded the lifetime box office of David Attenborough’s previous film, DAVID ATTENBOROUGH: A LIFE ON OUR PLANET, which Altitude also released in 2020.
Altitude commented, “The team at Altitude are incredibly proud of the UK & Irish box office success of OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH. The response to the film demonstrates the huge amount of admiration for David’s work across the generations, and the power of cinema to inspire and bring about change. He and his longtime filmmaking collaborators at Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios have made a film that reminds us of his unique ability to share the wonders and beauty of our planet whilst reinforcing our collective responsibility in protecting it for the future.”
