No longer associated with science class films on the lifecycle of an amoeba, documentary films are now very much swimming in the mainstream.

With titles such as the Canadian doc The Corporation breaking $1 million at the box office, and the international theatrical successes of the likes of Spellbound (US$7 million) and Winged Migration (US$17 million), distributors are increasingly regarding docs as viable theatrical releases. As a result, Hot Docs, Toronto’s international documentary festival beginning April 23, can expect more participation than ever before from theatrical distributors looking for the next breakout hit.

Jeff Sackman, president of Toronto distributor ThinkFilm, says that while his company was not looking specifically for documentary films, it currently has five feature-length docs to be released over the next nine months, including The Weeping Camel, Festival Express and Overnight.

‘Documentaries weren’t looked upon as theatrical, but Bowling for Columbine [with international box office around US$40 million] knocked the roof off that theory,’ he says. ‘[Audiences] aren’t distinguishing them as docs; they’re simply looking for interesting films, and with the dumbing-down of studio fare, more and more people are looking for alternatives.’

Canadian producers are more than prepared to meet this increased demand. Hot Docs’ Canadian Spectrum programmer Lynne Fernie notes a huge jump in feature-length Canadian docs.

‘The number of features submitted [to the Canadian Spectrum] went up by 60% this year. Last year, 37 features were submitted, and this year we had 61,’ she says.

Hot Docs’ Toronto Documentary Forum director Michaelle McLean says despite the fact that theatrical distributors still want to see completed documentaries before they consider picking them up, this year, for the first time, she has seen theatrical distributors interested in the festival’s pitch forum.

‘I think there’s enough interest that [distributors] want to get an early jump on what’s coming down the pipe,’ she says.

TVO’s Rudy Buttignol, commissioning editor for The Corporation and a founding member of Hot Docs, says the festival may help distribs figure out which docs are going to fly with audiences.

‘[Since] Columbine, every movie division is sending their scouts out looking for the next one,’ he says. ‘The only hope that distributors have is to get out there and see how the films work with live audiences, because you’re not going to be able to tell from the title or description.’

For example, The Corporation, which was pitched at the first TDF, where it was picked up by TVO, was never intended for theatrical release. According to Buttignol, pulling the film together to run as a feature as well as a miniseries was a last-minute thought on the part of the filmmakers.

Mongrel Media picked up The Corporation, and since debuting on the big screen Jan. 16, the doc has become the highest-grossing English-Canadian film of the year. Mongrel president Hussain Amarshi says he had no way of knowing the doc’s theatrical run was going to be as successful as it has been.

‘For a number of years, docs were not getting the theatrical presence they are getting right now, and that was partially because people were seeing docs on TV. We are getting to the point where people want to see higher-level docs in a communal setting,’ he says.

Amarshi says that while he has recognized a growing appetite for docs on the big screen, his company has always had between three and five docs in its lineup of approximately 30 films per year, and will continue to maintain that level.

‘There are an awfully large number of documentaries made and only a few will break through,’ he says, adding that the ancillary market for docs still can’t compare to that of dramatic features. But The Corporation may surprise Amarshi again when Mongrel releases it on DVD in the first quarter of next year.

While Amarshi says that getting more involved in projects at the development stage is a possible direction for Mongrel, Odeon Films signed on to Bowling for Columbine with a distribution deal early on, and according to Mark Slone, VP marketing and publicity, the film’s success encouraged the distributor to take a closer look at the genre.

‘Bowling for Columbine… showed us that there was a much larger potential upside on docs than we ever imagined,’ he says.

Odeon recently picked up Super Size Me on the heels of its warm reception at Sundance this year. Directed by American Morgan Spurlock, the feature-length doc takes a look at obesity and the fast-food industry. Slone hopes that by releasing Super Size Me on May 7, soon after its April 24 showing at Hot Docs, the buzz created by the festival will help the film perform as well as Bowling for Columbine.

‘If lightning can strike twice, then I think what you will see is a real renewed focus on searching for more docs that can perform that way,’ he says.

For Slone, one of the main differences between the doc market of a year ago and that of today is that more filmmakers are producing films intended for the big screen, rather than producing for television, then up-resing for theatrical release.

‘More resources than ever before are going into these films, and they’re being made with theatrical in mind,’ he says. ‘Columbine, for example, was made for theatrical release on a real budget with that marketplace in mind.’

Vancouver-based Paperny Films president David Paperny says his company has several big-screen docs in development and that the growing theatrical market encourages better filmmaking and storytelling.

‘It’s always been a dream to see our stories on the big screen, but it is more of a possibility now that there are distributors willing to put up some money for it and there are broadcasters willing to take a back seat to the theatrical release,’ he says.

‘This is something we didn’t see two, three, five or even 10 years ago, and we’re seeing it now because there is a market.’

Paperny Films produces diverse non-fiction programming, from the edgy series Kink, which has been sold to IFC in the U.S.; to award-winning one-offs such as The Boys of Buchenwald, which has been distributed by the National Film Board to PBS as well as broadcasters in Sweden, France and Portugal; to the hybrid reality-doc series When’s Mum Coming Home, which will air on Life Network on Mother’s Day. For Paperny, a diverse range of factual programming demands diverse distribution relationships.

‘We’re working with sales agents as well as distributors,’ he says. ‘We’re leaving ourselves flexible to move in different directions with different companies.’

While the potential of theatrical distribution seems like nothing but good news for documentaries, veteran broadcast journalist and doc filmmaker Michael Maclear, recipient of Hot Docs’ outstanding achievement award this year, maintains that TV remains the dominant outlet.

‘What we’re probably seeing right now is a greater interest in the documentary as a counterbalance to all the so-called reality programs, which are really unreal and contrived,’ he says. ‘The Canadian documentaries that have been doing well [in theaters], such as The Corporation and Columbine, can really be counted on one hand. We’ve got to be realistic and remember that a documentary might show well in theaters and the audience still wouldn’t equal one showing on a major TV network.’