John Wilson’s ‘The History of Concrete’ surpasses $1 million at the box office

John Wilson’s feature filmmaking debut, ‘The History of Concrete’, has surpassed $1 million at the box office after 16 days in theaters. Distributed by Magnolia Pictures following its acquisition at the Sundance Film Festival, the film has become the highest-grossing platform-distributed documentary of 2026.

The documentary explores urbanism and architecture through an absurdist lens, inspired by cracks in the concrete of Wilson’s own New York City apartment building. The film features Wilson traveling to Italy to study Roman concrete structures and to Bellefontaine, Ohio, to visit the oldest concrete street in America.

At the IFC Center, the film has become the venue's second highest-grossing debut, trailing only ‘Parasite’. Strong performance has been noted in various markets, including Chicago, Brooklyn, and San Francisco, with audiences consisting largely of younger moviegoers.