Cats of 'Kedi' tame doc box office

Film by Ceyda Torun guards territory at number one

Sari, one of the feline stars of "Kedi." Photo courtesy Oscilloscope

Duman, one of the feline stars of "Kedi." Photo courtesy Oscilloscope

The cats of Kedi leapt to the top of the documentary box office a week ago, and they show no signs of coming down.

They held on to their cozy spot again this past weekend, earning another $287,008 according to audience measurement expert comScore. The documentary by Ceyda Torun, distributed by Oscilloscope, has made over $1.4 million to date.

Gamsiz, one of the feline stars of "Kedi." Photo courtesy Oscilloscope

Deniz, one of the feline stars of "Kedi." Photo courtesy Oscilloscope

With nimble cinematography, the documentary tells the story of the felines of Istanbul -- hundreds of thousands of them occupy the streets of the city, generally to the amusement and delight of their human neighbors.
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For thousands of years they’ve wandered in and out of people’s lives, becoming an essential part of the communities that make the city so rich. Claiming no owners, the cats of Istanbul live between two worlds, neither wild nor tame — and they bring joy and purpose to those people they choose to adopt.

  --From the Kedi website

This is the first documentary from Torun, a native of the city who studied anthropology in the U.S.

"I grew up in Istanbul and I believe my childhood was infinitely less lonesome than it would have been if it werenʼt for cats - and I wouldnʼt be the person I am today," Torun wrote on the Kedi website. "They were my friends and confidants and I missed their presence in all the other cities I ever lived in."

An image from "Kedi," directed by Ceyda Torun. Photo courtesy Oscilloscope

Coming in second to Kedi at the doc box office was Raoul Peck's stunning I Am Not Your Negro, the documentary based on unpublished writings of James Baldwin.

IANYN earned another $172,611 over the weekend, upping its total to $6,421,343, according to comScore.

These films rounded out the top five docs at the box office:

3. The Eagle Huntress by Otto Bell
4. Mr. Gaga by Tomer Heymann
5. Contemporary Color by Bill and Turner Ross