Doc box office: 'City of Ghosts' debuts on top

Matthew Heineman film opened at a pair of locations in New York

Director Matthew Heineman is following up his Oscar-nominated Cartel Land with another box office success. 

His film City of Ghosts -- the story of citizen journalists struggling to share information with the outside world about conditions in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto capital of ISIS -- took the crown as the top-grossing documentary over the past weekend. 
​

They formed this group to expose the atrocities of ISIS and the film basically follows them after members of the group were killed and [surviving members] are forced to flee.

--Director Matthew Heineman on Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently, the group at the center of City of Ghosts

The film made $13,601 in its opening weekend, according to audience measurement company comScore, playing at just two locations in New York. It opens in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC on Friday, and expands to more cities in the coming weeks.

A still image from "City of Ghosts," directed by Matthew Heineman. Courtesy IFC Films/Amazon Studios

Coming in second over the weekend was The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman's Portrait Photography by Oscar-winning director Errol Morris. It has made $39,3893 in two weeks of release, according to comScore.

The top five documentaries in theatrical release, as reported by comScore:

1. City of Ghosts by Matthew Heineman
2. The B-Side: Elsa Dorman's Portrait Photography by Errol Morris
3. My Journey Through French Cinema by Bertrand Tavernier
4. Kedi by Ceyda Torun
5. Hare Krishna! The Mantra, the Movement and the Swami Who Started It All by John Griesser, co-directed by Jean Griesser and Lauren Ross