'BECKHAM' STILL SCORING DESPITE TRIMMED RELEASE.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

As blockbusters ``The Hulk'' and ``Finding Nemo'' dominate at the nation's multiplexes, the year's sleeper hit ``Bend it Like Beckham'' is being pushed off some theater marquees as exhibitors make room for new releases.

But seemingly against all box office odds, the low-budget independent film refuses to fade away.

The Fox Searchlight release played in 72 fewer theaters last weekend than the week before, but its ticket sales dropped by a scant 6 percent in its 16th weekend of release. The British import, acquired by Searchlight for just $1 million, is currently playing in 315 theaters, down from its peak of 555 theaters in early May.

``We monitor it every week,'' said Steve Gilula, president of distribution for Fox Searchlight. ``We may go back and expand again as some of the theaters open up after the summer crunch. In some markets, it has stayed stronger than others, and there are a lot of new movies coming out.''

``Beckham'' has grossed more than $23 million domestically so far and is expected to steadily add to that total throughout the summer.

``This is definitely out of the ordinary,'' said Brandon Gray, president of Boxofficemojo.com. ``But losing theaters doesn't necessarily mean you lose an audience. When you have something that is such a crowd pleaser and has excellent word of mouth going for it, people will find the picture.''

The movie, about a young Indian girl who dreams of being a British soccer star and rebels against her parents' traditionalism, has already broken box office records in the United Kingdom.

It was released in just six theaters in early March and quietly broke into the top 10 during the eighth week of its run. ``Beckham'' finished in 14th place last weekend in a marketplace crowded with such hits as ``Hulk,'' ``Nemo,'' ``2 Fast 2 Furious,'' ``Bruce Almighty,'' ``The Italian Job,'' ``The Matrix Reloaded'' and ``X2: X-Men United.''

The film will remain in approximately the same number of theaters this weekend as ``Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' barrels into release followed a week later by two high-profile sequels: ``Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde'' and ``T3: The Rise of the Machines.''

``It's one of the big success stories of the year even if it stops here just because of everything going against it,'' Gray said. ``It's difficult to market a film about soccer, and a British one at that, here in the United States.''

Originally, the use of the name Beckham in the title was a marketing challenge. But as soccer superstar David Beckham, as famous in the United Kingdom as Michael Jordan is in the United States, has seen his profile in the U.S. escalate in recent months, his name is thought to now be helping the film even though he does not appear in it.

Additionally, the film's two previously unknown female leads, Parminder K. Nagra and Keira Knightley, have landed, respectively, high-profile roles in the series ``ER'' and the coming film ``The Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.''

``Every time there is new round of publicity, it continues to revive interest in the film,'' Gilula said. ``But the most significant thing is continued word of mouth.''

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(color) Word of mouth has continued to draw crowds to Fox Searchlight's ``Bend It Like Beckham,'' despite a pared-down release.