Fox Searchlight pulled off a counter-programming coup over the weekend.
While "The Avengers" was breaking box-office records, superhero-free "Best Exotic Marigold Hotel" slipped into the top ten films in the U.S., taking in $2.6 million from 178 screens in its second week. That works out to a per-screen average of $14,888 for the film about British retirees in India, which expanded from 27 first-week locations.
Also read: 'The Avengers' Bashes Way to Billion Dollars at Worldwide Box Office
Another independent film, Lionsgate's "Girl in Progress," took the No. 10 spot with $1.3 million from 322 locations. Eva Mendes, Matthew Modine and Patricia Arquette star in the story of a single mom too busy to give her daughter the attention she desperately needs.
Millennium Entertainment's dark comedy "Bernie" managed $216,500 from 36 locations to raise its overall domestic gross to 537,000 in its third week.
The Weinstein Co.'s rerelease of "The Artist," Academy Award winner for Best Picture, brought in $161,000 from 751 screens. That gives it an overall cume of $44.4 million domestically.
TWC's documentary "Bully" added another $142,000 from 263 locations, upping its overall take to $2.8 million.
CBS Films' "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" brought in $158,000 from 200 screens. Its overall U.S. gross stands at $8.5 million.