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.