CERRITOS : Financial Figures for Performing Arts Center

The Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts finished its first year as the nation’s third top grossing theater with 3,000 seats or less, according to figures compiled by an industry publication.

The Cerritos theater, which featured such celebrities as Frank Sinatra, Whitney Houston and Kenny Rogers last year, grossed $5.4 million for 140 performances. Attendance was 207,840, officials said.

Westbury Music Fair in New York was in first place, grossing nearly $9.5 million for 188 shows that drew 415,533 people. Valley Forge Music Fair in Pennsylvania was second, with a $6.6-million gross for 145 shows and an attendance of 329,468.

The rankings were published in the Dec. 31 issue of Performance, a weekly magazine for the arts industry. The only other venue in California to make the top 10 list in this category was the Pantages Theater in Los Angeles, which ranked fifth. The theater’s 46 shows brought in $3.6 million and drew 75,215 people.