Montreal: Distribs Warner Bros. and TVA International (formerly Motion International) are combining on a Friday, Aug. 25 release on 2,600 screens for the Christian Duguay political-action thriller The Art of War.

Dan Lyon, executive vp, distribution, with tva, says the distrib’s p&a investment for the 200-screen Canadian release is ‘in the neighborhood of $2 million.’ The total includes some 40 prints for the French-track market.

The movie’s promoters are calling the release ‘the largest ever for a Canadian movie.’

tva had 700 trailers in theatres at Playback press time, outsized Art of War banners in Cineplex Odeon and Famous Players multiplexes, ‘and we’re also working with independents like Cinema Guzzo (Quebec), Empire Theatres (Maritimes) and Landmark in Western Canada,’ says Lyon.

Media highlights include spot tv advertising during the last episode of the hit show Survivor, national English and French radio, costly print display ads in dailies, free tv across the country and various cable channels. And Canadian press was flown on a junket to l.a. to meet lead Wesley Snipes. His ’98 box-office hit The Blade grossed $150 million worldwide.

The Art of War was produced by Nicolas Clermont (Secret Adventures of Jules Verne, Eye of the Beholder) of Filmline International on a budget of $24 million, and also stars Anne Archer, Marie Matiko and Donald Sutherland in a New York/Hong Kong-set narrative broadly inspired by Chinese general Sun Tsu’s handbook – The Art of War. Snipes and Elie Samaha of Franchise Pictures are the exec-producers. Screenplay credit goes to Wayne Beach. Pierre Gill is the film’s dop and the original music is by Normand Corbeil.

Lyon says Art of War director Duguay is ‘a true Canadian star.’

Recent reports in local media claim Duguay (Joan of Arc, Million Dollar Babies, The Assignment) has been approached to direct on as many as a dozen new projects – including major studio films such as Terminator 3 with Arnold Schwarzenegger, a $50 million action film for mgm starring Antonio Banderas, and a third big-budget project, a new sci-fi epic from Clermont.

The distrib’s forecast? The Art of War will top the North American box office charts during its first two weeks in release.

La Vie tops $2 million

in other box-office news, the Gabriel Pelletier comedy La Vie Apres l’Amour has hit the $2.3 million mark after six weeks. The film, produced by Max Films and distributed by Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, ranks second among all releases in Quebec this summer, tied with Gladiator and second only by $400,000 to Mission Impossible 2. La Vie opened on 77 screens July 7 and is currently on some 40 screens.

Lions Gate Films’ animation sequel Heavy Metal: F.A.KK 2, produced by CineGroupe, pulled in $1,400 on a single English screen in Quebec, despite less than favorable reviews. The stickhandling-monkey movie, MVP – Most Valuable Primate, distributed by Equinox Entertainment and produced by Vancouver’s Keystone International, pulled in a disappointing $33,000 on 23 screens in its opening weekend in Quebec theatres, despite generally positive reviews in both the entertainment and sports sections of newspapers.

Unlike MVP, Keystone’s original Air Bud title was a big hit in Quebec. Red Sky Entertainment is handling the film in the English-Canadian market.

Coming Canadian theatrical releases in September, according to distribution consultant Alex Film include: Leonard Farlinger’s The Perfect Son, (Equinox); Michel Jette’s biker drama Hochelaga (Cinema Libre), in official competition at the Montreal World Film Festival; the Yves Hanchar coproduction En Vacances (Film Tonic) and Denis Villeneuve’s Maelstrom (Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm), also competing at wff.

October releases include Guylaine Dionne’s Les Fant™mes des 3 Madeleines (Equinox); John L’Ecuyer’s Saint Jude (Seville Pictures); Mario Chabot’s Mechant Party (Film Tonic), Claude Demers’ L’Invention de l’amour (Remstar Distribution), in competition at wff, and Alain Desrochers’ La Bouteille (Lions Gate). Oct. 27 is set as the release date for Denys Arcand’s Stardom (Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm), closing night film at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and opening-night gala presentation (Sept. 7) at the Toronto International Film Festival. *