Richie McCaw's documentary Chasing Great has broken the box office record for the highest grossing opening weekend for a New Zealand documentary, taking over $681,000.

The previous record was held by Beyond the Edge which took in over $273,000 during its opening weekend in October 2013.

Spotlight interview: Richie McCaw speaks to Tony Veitch

The latest New Zealand box office figures show New Zealanders are going to local films in record numbers.

In the past 12 months, Born to Dance, Mahana and Poi E have all taken in over one million dollars.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople became the highest grossing New Zealand film ever in May, when it beat the $9.3 million figure set by Boy.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople remains in cinemas and has now taken more than $12 million and remains the top grossing film of 2016, beating films such as Finding Dory, The Jungle Book and Deadpool.