Playback Magazine-Grendel eats the box

April 3, 2006
News


Grendel eats the box



by Marcus Robinson
page 4

Director Sturla Gunnarsson's Canada/U.K./Iceland copro Beowulf & Grendel has easily held the top spot in box office among Canadian films since its release on March 10.

The epic tale about the legendary hero Beowulf (Gerard Butler) and his clash with killer troll Grendel (Ingvar Eggert Sigurosson), did solid business from March 17-26, taking in $155,658 for a total of $346,852.

Canada/Japan copro drama Kamataki continued to hold second spot in its limited run in three theaters, averaging a strong $6,063 per screen in its third week, to push its cumulative total to $86,648. Ensemble thriller Que Dieu bénisse l'Amérique stayed in third with a flagging per-screen average of $1,826 and a total box of $226,497 as of March 26 while in seven venues across Quebec.

Sean Garrity's second film, Lucid, starring Jonas Chernick as a psychotherapist who re-examines his life, debuted with a decent $4,004 per-screen average for a total of $14,074 in three theaters since March 17, while noir drama Niagara Motel, directed by Gary Yates, opened on four screens and totaled $4,358 for the weekend of March 24. Mongrel Media's Tom Alexander says the distrib plans to platform release the two titles over the spring.

Meanwhile, dark teen comedy These Girls, directed by John Hazlett and starring David Boreanaz (Angel), opened March 3 in 21 theaters, bringing in a disappointing total of $21,903. A source from distributor Seville Pictures says that the movie website got major hits from fans of Boreanaz, but the numbers weren't there. The hope is that fans will discover it on DVD.

In upcoming news, David Christensen's drama Six Figures will add Toronto on March 31, following Vancouver, where it's taken in $3,261 from March 17-26, and Jim Donovan's Pure opens a limited run in Toronto on April 14.

The box office for Canuck fare will get a major bump from three high-profile films, including video game adaptation and $40-million horror pic Silent Hill, which Odeon Films will roll out in 140 theaters in English Canada and 30 in Quebec on April 21, day and date with American distrib Columbia TriStar. The Canada/France copro is produced by Don Carmody (Resident Evil: Apocalypse) and directed by Christophe Gans (Brotherhood of the Wolf).

Robert Favreau's love story set in the Rwandan genocide, Un dimanche à Kigali, bows April 12 with around 60 prints in Quebec, and the Maurice Richard biopic The Rocket comes to English Canada April 21 after taking in more than $4 million in Quebec.

http://www.playbackmag.com/articles/magazine/20060403/beowulf.html