Atom Egoyan’s Ararat brought in an estimated $211,130 on a limited platform release of six screens in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, averaging $35,188 per screen over its opening Nov. 15-17 weekend. Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution is distributing in Canada. Miramax Films is the U.S. distrib.

The film premiered in L.A. earlier this month at the American Film Institute and was also the subject of a cocktail reception and screening at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., hosted by former Senator Robert Dole.

Ararat was written and directed by Egoyan and co-produced with Robert Lantos of Serendipity Point Films.

In other news, distributor Mongrel Media reports Bollywood/Hollywood, the romantic musical/comedy from Toronto writer/director Deepa Mehta, has hit the $1-million mark at the Canadian box office. The film opened on 37 screens Oct. 25 and has taken in more than $1.1 million. At press time, it was still on 37 screens. The film opened in the U.S. Nov. 22 on 30 screens specializing in Bollywood product. Producer David Hamilton says the film has sold in 21 countries.

Quebec wide openings

In the Quebec market, Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm in association with sponsor Metro is putting up a major marketing effort on behalf of Charles Biname’s romantic period drama Seraphin – Un homme et son peche. The film was produced for $5.7 million by Cite-Amerique and is a big-screen adaptation of Claude Henri Grignon’s 1939 novel, subsequently adapted for radio and TV.

Seraphin opens on more than 100 screens Friday, Nov. 29, and stars Karine Vanasse, Roy Dupuis and Pierre Lebeau.

AAV reports Ricardo Trogi’s surprise hit, the roadmovie comedy Quebec-Montreal (Go Films), has cumulative receipts of $893,344 after three and a half months in theatres.

Manon Briand’s second feature film, La Turbulence des fluides (Studio Max Films/Europa Corp.), has a total box-office take of $614,513 since opening Sept. 6, while Robert Morin’s controversial tale of small-town racism, Le Neg’ (Les Productions 23), distributed by Christal Films, has earned about $90,000 since opening on 13 screens Oct. 25.

Distrib Film Tonic reports Kim Nguyen’s feature debut Le Marais had total receipts of $44,139 following the Nov. 15-17 weekend. The film opened on three screens and is now playing on six and has garnered very positive reviews for its originality.

Tonic will open Michael Mackenzie’s HD feature debut The Baroness and the Pig (Media Principia) on five screens in Montreal and Quebec City on Nov. 22, including an HD screening at Ex-Centris. Earlier this month, Equinox Films released the Jean Claude Lord family film Station Nord.