The story of the top 10occurred in fifth place this week as Sony's acclaimed stage adaptation Closeropened on limited release with an excellent $7.7m.

Mike Nichols' adaptation ofPatrick Marber's harrowing relationship drama averaged $16,193 on 476 screens.Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Jude law and Julia Roberts star as a London-basedcoterie whose rampant sexual urges impact each other's lives. The pictureshould continue to perform solidly as awards recognition becomes a factor.

Also in the limited arenaSony Pictures Classics launched House Of Flying Daggers in 19th place on$397,472 for a $26,498 average on 15 screens. Zhang Yimou's latest releaseearned rave reviews and stars Zhang Ziyi, Takeshi Kaneshiro and Andy Lau.

Business was unremarkablefor the weekend, which traditionally is not a strong one followingThanksgiving: overall domestic box office accounted for $87m, which representsan 11% slide against the same period last year and a 47% drop compared to lastweekend.