MONTREAL -- Period drama "Seraphin, un homme et son peche" (Seraphin: Heart of Stone) has passed 1997 hockey comedy "Les Boys" to become Quebec's top-grossing homegrown film.
Helmer Charles Biname's "Seraphin," released Nov. 29, has grossed C$6.2 million ($4 million) and is still going strong. It took $307,000 on the weekend, a drop of 20%, behind the French-lingo Alliance Atlantis release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," which rang-up $469,000.
Before "Seraphin," the three top-grossing Quebec films were "Les Boys" ($3.9 million) and its sequels "Les Boys 2" and "Les Boys 3," which each grossed $3.4 million.
Set in the 1890s, "Seraphin" tells the tragic tale of a woman (Karine Vanasse) forced to marry twisted miser Seraphin (Pierre Lebeau) to save her father's honor.
Pic is produced by Lorraine Richard from Montreal-based Cite-Amerique.
"The success shows that Quebec moviegoers do indeed like homegrown dramatic movies," said Simon Beaudry, president of Montreal-based B.O. tracking firm Alex Films. "This is great news for the Quebec industry."
The ticket sales have already greatly exceeded all expectations, said Guy Gagnon, president of Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm. The success has also silenced naysayers who had been suggesting it would only appeal to an older demographic familiar with the 1933 novel Un Homme et Son Peche.
"One of the big surprises is how many young people have gone to see the film," said Gagnon.
Seraphin is playing on 93 screens across the province. It bows in the rest of Canada with English sub-titles in March.
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