Weekend box office

The acclaimed British coming-of-age comedy “Bend It Like Beckham,” the story of a teenage girl from a traditional Indian family who dreams of playing soccer for England, had a healthy debut, grossing $161,528 at only six theaters for an impressive per-venue average of $26,921.

“Nowhere in Africa,” another small film that has won over critics, grossed $87,496 in 11 theaters for a per-venue average of $7,954 in its second week in release.

The top 12 films grossed $94.6 million over the weekend, a 3.9% drop compared with the same weekend last year.

*--* MOVIE 3-DAY GROSS TOTAL (MILLIONS) VENUES AVERAGE PER VENUE WEEKS (STUDIO)

1 Bringing $22.1 $61.3 2,801 $7,874 2 Down the House (Buena Vista)

2 Agent $14.1 $14.1 3,369 $4,175 1 Cody Banks (MGM)

3 The Hunted $13.5 $13.5 2,516 $5,359 1 (Paramount)

4 Tears of $8.7 $30.7 2,973 $2,928 2 the Sun (Sony)

5 Chicago $7.1 $124.8 2,600 $2,733 12 (Miramax)

6 Old School $6.7 $60.8 2,452 $2,720 4 (DreamWorks)

7 How to $4.7 $93.7 2,430 $1,928 6 Lose a Guy in 10 Days (Paramount)

8 Willard $4.0 $4.0 1,761 $2,277 1 (New Line)

9 Daredevil $3.0 $96.0 2,056 $1,474 5 (Fox)

10 Cradle 2 $2.97 $31.7 2,150 $1,383 3 the Grave (Warner Bros.)

Source: Exhibitor Relations Co Los Angeles Times

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