A curious thing happened at the Canadian theatrical box office during the week of April 5-11, 2024: over 20% of the screenings were Canadian movies. This number is usually between three to ten percent of screenings.
In BC, Monkey Man had over 55% of the Canadian screenings, with Dune: Part Two pulling in over 40%. In other words, those two movies represented over 95% of the Canadian screenings in BC for the week of April 5-11, 2024.
Canadian movies, eh?
Monkey Man was produced by Canadian motion picture company Bron Studios. Netflix declined and shopped it, and Jordan Peele picked it up. Unfortunately, Bron may be having financial difficulties.
Dune: Part Two was co-written and directed by Canadian Denis Villeneuve. It probably earns its maple leaf because the special effects were done by three Canadian companies:
- DNEG has offices in both Toronto and Montreal.
- Wylie Co. has offices in Montreal.
- Rodeo FX has studios in Montreal, Quebec City, and Toronto.
Yes, these are Canadian films in the sense that Canadians had a big hand in making them. Not sure they reflect the Canadian identity and experience though.
My take: I always watch the credits to the very end. It’s always worth the chuckle when a Canadian government logo scrolls by on a patently non-Canadian film. Canadian tax dollars at work!