Ranking of 2018 Documentaries

January 1st, 2019

Where to Watch

For the first time ever, I’m releasing a ranking of the best to worst documentaries of 2018! I decided to make this list because I was in the theater almost every weekend this year so I feel as if I got a wide range of experiences across different genres, and more importantly, I put my money where my mouth is. There will be a separate list for movies. Some documentaries may be listed on IMDb as 2017, but they only reached theaters near me in 2018. It may feel as if these documentaries were in theaters a long time ago because of the Oscars, but the award system in general does not reflect what it is like to see a theater in the audience. If I saw a documentary in the theater, and it is ranked lower than a documentary that I saw at home, that could mean the documentary in the theater was that bad or the documentary at home was that good! You get demerits for being problematic or leaving a bad residual taste whereas a documentary that is generally bad can redeem itself in the last quarter or if it stands out in some remarkable way. Finally if you were fun to watch, but crap, you will get ranked higher than most lists. Similarly you may be a great quality documentary and hit all the artsy fartsy notes, but be a bore to watch. You will get lower marks. You get more points for audacity. I call it “going there!” If you don’t flinch and don’t care about marketability, you’ll get higher points, but if you do the same thing AND care about marketability, you suck, and you’ll plummet. Being substantially conventional & enjoyable will not get you ahead. Enjoy!