Dame Jacinda Ardern documentary Prime Minister posts strongest NZ doco debut since 2018

Prime Minister, the film chronicling Dame Jacinda Ardern’s tenure as New Zealand’s 40th Prime Minister, has recorded the strongest opening week for a local documentary in seven years.

Distribution company Rialto said the film had earned $417,000 in its first week, including previews.

Rialto said the film, co-directed by Lindsay Utz and Michelle Walshe, also had sold-out success at the 2025 New Zealand International Film Festival. It also premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

The 102-minute film presents an account of Ardern’s political and personal life over five years, covering crises such as the Christchurch mosque attack, the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption and the Covid-19 pandemic.

The film also includes home video footage shot by Ardern’s husband, Clarke Gayford, who is credited as one of the film’s six producers and three directors of photography.

He filmed her experiences as the second world leader to give birth while in office.

Dame Jacinda Ardern in Prime Minister.

The film’s critical reception has been mixed. Los Angeles Times entertainment and arts deputy editor Matt Brennan called Prime Minister “an uncommonly revealing portrait of leadership in action”. Siddhant Adlakha of Variety decreed it an “intimate but simplistic documentary”.

Adlakha considered Gayford’s involvement as producer a “double-edged sword” that could have contributed to the limited political approach.

Ardern told the New Zealand Herald in June, 2024 that she supported the film because the producers had not sought Film Commission funding.

During an interview at the Sundance Film Festival, she said she cried when watching the final cut of the film.

“I was very emotional watching it. I credit the storytellers for it. I hoped that the film would humanise politicians, those who are public servants, and leadership, but I never thought it would humanise me. When I watched it, I just saw myself as someone who was trying to do their best.”

Yesterday, Ardern posted on her Instagram account thanking audiences who had supported the film in theatres.

“To all the lovely folks back home who have gone to see the documentary, Prime Minister at @nzrialtomovies, thank you,” she wrote.

“I have loved hearing all the feedback. And for those of you in the US who have @hbomax, it’s premiering tonight!!”

Previous high-grossing New Zealand documentaries include Sir Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old ($240,000 after opening week in 2018) and Roger Donaldson’s McLaren ($300,000 after opening week in 2017).

The highest-grossing local documentary of all time is Chasing Great (2016), from the same filmmaking team behind Prime Minister.

Prime Minister is showing in cinemas nationwide now.