Still in the UK top fifteen after five weeks on release, Bollywood crossover Lagaan passed the £500,000 ($710,000) mark at the box office over the weekend, making it the sixth highest-grossing Bollywood production in the UK. 1998's Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, distributed by Yash Raj Films, remains the best performing Bollywood film in the territory, with a total gross of £1.75m ($2.5m).

Predictably, UIP's Jurassic Park III claimed top spot at the UK box office with a formidable £4.8m ($6.8m) opening weekend from 458 sites - a queue-inducing cinema average of $14,854.

While the third installment in the monster franchise fell short of 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park, which opened with £5.7m ($8.1m), the sequel virtually matched the original Jurassic Park opening tally of £4.9m ($6.96m).

The UK was just one of several territories to get a day-and-date release for the film. In Singapore, Jurassic Park III achieved the best non-holiday opening weekend of all time with $891,075, while in Mexico the film took the second best opener position, ironically behind Dinosaur, with $3.2m. Number one spots were also claimed in Brazil ($1.4m), Malaysia ($561,847) and South Korea ($1.9m).

Back in the UK only two other openers managed top 15 chart positions. Brave enough to open against the raptors, High Heels And Low Lifes, the latest comedy from British director Mel Smith (Bean), took a respectable £454 989 ($649,984) from 271 sites, an average of $2,398. The comedy thriller, which took fourth place behind Shrek and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, managed to capitalize on the female market unimpressed with size and brute force. Also aiming squarely at this demographic was 20th Century Fox's Animal Attraction (aka Someone Like You). The film struggled to attract substantial audiences, however, opening at number 11 with £66,520 ($95,029) from 131 sites for a weak average of $725.

Three other openers all scored good weekend debuts on just two screens each. Gala's A L'Attaque managed £6,354 ($9,077) for a strong average of $4,539. The Iron Ladies took £4,672 ($6,674), of which the specialist art-house venue, the ICA, accounted for £3,845 ($5,493). Spanish production Solas, distributed by Artificial Eye, took £4,600 ($6,571).

Shrek continued to hold strong at number two taking £1.9m ($2.7m) over the weekend, bringing its total to date to £17.6m ($25.2m). Meanwhile another children's animation Pokemon 3 fared less well dropping 69% from its opening weekend to take £80,098 ($114,426) from 173 sites.

These two will face stiff competition for the youth market in the next few weeks with Friday (July 27) bringing Fox's Dr Dolittle 2 and BVI's Recess: School's Out. Cats & Dogs follows from Warner Bros. on August 3, while Metrodome's Help! I'm A Fish arrives on August 10.