- Justin Bieber: Never Say Never box office: Having opened right behind the Adam Sandler-Jennifer Aniston comedy Just Go with It, on its first weekend out Jon M. Chu’s concert documentary earned more than twice its reported production budget.
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never box office: Jon M. Chu-directed concert documentary is an all-out commercial success
Feb. 11–13 weekend box office (cont.): On the heels of the Adam Sandler–Jennifer Aniston comedy Just Go with It, Paramount Pictures’ Jon M. Chu-directed 3D concert documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never grossed $29.5 million from 3,105 North American (U.S. and Canada only) locations according to final studio figures found at boxofficemojo.com.
That’s more than twice the film’s $13 million budget. (Marketing and distribution expenses had a reported $20 million price tag.)
Once one factors in revenues from its Wednesday night previews, Justin Bieber: Never Say Never has earned $30.3 million to date.
Justin Bieber vs. Michael Jackson & the Jonas Brothers
For comparison’s sake: Directed by Kenny Ortega, the 2D Michael Jackson concert documentary This Is It brought in $34.4 million in its first five days out (Wed.–Sun.) in October 2009, ending its run with $72.1 million domestically and $189.1 million internationally. Worldwide total: $262.2 million.
Here’s another comparison: Justin Bieber: Never Say Never earned more on its debut weekend than Bruce Hendricks’ Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience collected during its entire worldwide run ($23.2 million) in early 2009.
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never will likely surpass This Is It in the domestic market, but there’s little chance it will get near the international total of the Michael Jackson docu-blockbuster.
Countdown to Madison Square Garden concert
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never follows its titular singing sensation during the course of 10 days prior to his August 2010 performance at Madison Square Garden. Also included is footage from his My World Tour.
Besides Justin Bieber, the concert documentary features Miley Cyrus, Usher, Jaden Smith, Sean Kingston, Snoop Dogg, Ludacris, Boyz II Men, Scooter Braun, Bruce Dale, Ryan Good, Allison Kaye, Kenny Hamilton, and Randy Phillips.
Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth) has been previously – and incongruously – announced as the prospective Never Say Never director.
Staying true to the Justin Bieber-fans relationship
Of note…
The documentary-concert movie Justin Bieber: Never Say Never was screened at 300 theaters in the U.S. and Canada on Wednesday night, two days (or rather, a day and a half) prior to the official debut of the 3D biographical documentary at more than 3,000 locations on Friday, Feb. 11.
These 300 special screenings are already sold out despite the hefty price tag for Justin Bieber: Never Say Never tickets: $30 per person. Admittedly, that includes not only the chance to see Justin Bieber in 3D but also to take home Never Say Never souvenirs such as, huh, purple-colored 3D glasses.
“As we were putting together the release plan for this movie, we were very respectful of the relationship Justin has developed with his fans,” Paramount Vice Chair Rob Moore was quoted as saying in The Hollywood Reporter. “We wanted to stay to true to that relationship, and give them a special and specific way to be the first ones to see the movie.”
“Special and specific” is right. More than 60,000 tickets sold at $30 a pop have generated about $2 million. Of that amount, half will be reported as box office revenues; the other half as merchandising income.
Of note, the London premiere of Justin Bieber: Never Say Never was attended by Bieber himself, in addition to pop singers Alesha Dixon, Jamelia, Jessie J, Lizzie Cundy, Caroline Feraday, and others.
Justin Bieber talks abortion, universal health care
Feb. 16 update: Pop icon Justin Bieber has received lots of publicity following his remarks about abortion – “I really don’t believe in abortion. It’s like killing a baby?” – and health care in Rolling Stone magazine. Regarding health care, Bieber avers:
Canada’s the best country in the world. We go to the doctor and we don’t need to worry about paying him, but here, your whole life, you’re broke because of medical bills. My bodyguard’s baby was premature, and now he has to pay for it. In Canada, if your baby’s premature, he stays in the hospital as long as he needs to, and then you go home.
Domestic hit, but modest international performer
Update: The Jon M. Chu documentary Justin Bieber: Never Say Never ultimately collected $73 million domestically and $26 million internationally. Worldwide total: $214.9 million.
Its top international markets were Australia ($4.6 million), the United Kingdom/Ireland ($3.7 million), and Brazil ($3.1 million).
“Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Box Office: Undeniable Hit” notes
Unless otherwise noted, “Justin Bieber: Never Say Never Box Office: Undeniable Hit” box office information via Box Office Mojo. Budget info – which should be taken with a grain of salt – via BOM and/or other sources (e.g., the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Screen Daily, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, Deadline.com, etc.).
Comments about Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and other titles being hits/profitable or flops/money-losers at the box office (see paragraph below) are based on the available data about their production budget, additional marketing and distribution expenses (as a general rule of thumb, around 50 percent of the production cost), and worldwide gross (as a general rule of thumb when it comes to the Hollywood studios, around 50–55 percent of the domestic gross and 40 percent of the international gross go to the distributing/producing companies).
Note: Data regarding rebates, domestic and international sales/pre-sales, and other credits and/or contractual details that help to alleviate/split production costs and apportion revenues are oftentimes unavailable, and that reported international grosses may be incomplete (i.e., not every territory is fully – or even partially – accounted for).
Also: Ancillary revenues (domestic/global television rights, home video sales, streaming, merchandising, etc.) can represent anywhere between 40–70 percent of a movie’s total take. However, these revenues and their apportionment are only infrequently made public.
Justin Bieber: Never Say Never image: Paramount Pictures.
*last modified in May 2026.