Gurinder Chadha's hit comedy "Bend It Like Beckham" reached a major milestone as it was listed among top ten with US box office ticket sales estimated at $1.46 million over the weekend.
It occupied the ninth spot between Michael Douglas movie "It Runs in the Family" and the Chow Yun-fat action film "Bulletproof Monk."
The movie's performance was even better than the figures show as it was playing only in 484 locations while the remaining movies in the top ten list were being shown in 1000 theatres each.
The distributor added 63 new theaters to the run over the weekend and will expand to more than 500 sites on May 9.
Since its March 12 opening, the film has been screened in a combination of art house cinemas and commercial multiplexes and has grossed $11 million, making it the year's highest-grossing limited-release film.
Indian-themed films rarely appear in the Top 20, much less the Top 10 but "Bend It Like Beckham" continues to steadily climb the charts. Only a small handful of motion pictures with central Indian themes have ever hit the North American Top 10 chart.
"Gandhi" had occupied number two spot in 1983, "A Passage to India" reached third place in 1985. In 1992, both "City of Joy" and "Mississippi Masala" were among Top 10.
{{/usCountry}}"Gandhi" had occupied number two spot in 1983, "A Passage to India" reached third place in 1985. In 1992, both "City of Joy" and "Mississippi Masala" were among Top 10.
{{/usCountry}}The star-studded Bollywood hit "Khabi Khushi Kabhie Gham" debuted in tenth place in December 2001.
"Bend It Like Beckham" is running well ahead of the pace of last spring's Indian hit "Monsoon Wedding" which had grossed $6.2 million after its eighth weekend on its way to $14 million.