National Geographic’s “Before the Flood,” produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, has reached more than 60 million people worldwide and surpassed a record-setting one billion minutes viewed across linear, digital, streaming and social platforms — making it arguably one of the most watched documentaries in history and the most watched NatGeo film ever.
The climate-change documentary is directed by Fisher Stevens and is a look at the Earth’s future if we continue to ignore the global warming warnings. In the documentary, DiCaprio is seen traveling all over the world, speaking in front of the U.N. about environmental issues and meeting with influential people like Pope Francis, President Barack Obama and Elon Musk about the importance of protecting the planet for future generations.
Last week, Deadline reported that the film had the “the largest sampling [of viewers] for a documentary in the world since 2000, and the largest ever for a National Geographic film,” according to the company. The doc, which was the most broadly distributed program the network has ever released, also had the highest average of minutes viewed for a NatGeo movie.
The past week’s election made an impact on the urgency of the issues, with Stevens saying in a statement, “Our new administration could dismantle all the good and forward momentum that has occurred over the past few years if campaign promises are actually kept.” Adding, “However, let’s do everything in our power to make President-elect Trump understand that man-made climate change is not only real, but is happening at an alarming rate. We are currently trying to get him to watch the film and to get Leo and other leaders in the climate movement an audience with the president-elect.”
Beyond the impressive numbers, “Before The Flood” was also made available for free to more than 50,000 college students with campus screenings across the U.S., and more than 1,500 requests have been fulfilled from colleges, religious institutions and other organizations for private screening events around the world. National Geographic and the film’s creators are proud to bring the issue of climate change to the forefront of the global conversation and hope to inspire viewers to take action.
“Before the Flood” was an official selection at the Toronto Film Festival, London Film Festival and Hamptons International Film Festival. It was released in limited theaters on October 21 and premiered on the National Geographic Channel on October 30. It was later released online for free.
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