Janis proves unbeatable at doc box office

Amy Berg film is #1 again; Heart of a Dog returns to top five

Janis Joplin. Photo courtesy Rise Films

Another week, another number one finish for Amy Berg's documentary on Janis Joplin.

Janis: Little Girl Blue retained the top spot among documentaries at the box office over the weekend, pushing its total earnings to $368,692 after 11 weeks of release, according to audience measurement firm Rentrak.

Laurie Anderson's nonfiction film Heart of a Dog returned to the top five, coming in second to Janis. Heart of a Dog has now made $373,607, or slightly more than Janis, in 16 weeks of release.

Register with Nonfictionfilm.com

It has been a quiet start to the new year for documentaries on the big screen. Very few nonfiction films are currently available in theaters -- only 21 screens nationwide are showing docs, Rentrak reported.

The "widest" documentary release is Hitchcock/Truffaut, which occupies only five screens at the moment. The film by Kent Jones came in third over the weekend, upping its total take to just under $300,000.

​These are the top five documentaries at the box office, as reported by Rentrak: