As far as Odeon Films is concerned, it’s a whole new ball game for Denys Arcand’s Days of Darkness (L’âge des ténèbres), which begins a platform release in English Canada on Friday.

The comic drama from the Quebec auteur has had to contend with some negative French press, starting back in May when its release was pushed back, and again after it opened in France in September and in Quebec three months later. Darkness had its world premiere as the closing film at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, out of competition.

But Odeon SVP Mark Slone says the French press has no bearing on Darkness‘ release in English Canada, where, he points out, reviews have been more positive. Darkness will bow on two screens in Toronto and one in Vancouver.

‘It’s not a factor in English Canada because, for the most part, English-Canadians are not consuming French-language media. The media was mixed there, and from a Quebec marketing perspective, that had an effect,’ he tells Playback Daily. ‘But from an English-Canadian perspective, it’s really a matter of what the English media have to say about the film.’

Slone cites some examples of positive reviews — including one from Toronto Star movie critic Peter Howell, who called Darkness ‘one of Arcand’s greatest.’

The film stars Quebec comedian Marc Labrèche as a civil servant trying to escape his monotonous life through a rich fantasy world that involves a beautiful woman (Diane Kruger). Darkness, produced by Denise Robert and Daniel Louis of Montreal’s Cinémaginaire, is Arcand’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning The Barbarian Invasions (2003).

Slone says the distrib timed the release of Darkness to the outcome of the Academy Awards. The film was long-listed for a foreign-language Oscar but did not get a nomination.

‘Had the film made it onto the final list of Academy Award nominees, we probably would’ve released it a bit earlier to capitalize on the awards. But once the film isn’t in the Oscar race, you have to kind of get out of the way so the Academy films can finish playing,’ he says.

Slone says the distrib spent a more substantive amount on the marketing and promotion of Darkness than usual for a platform release, adding that an entirely new campaign was created for English Canada.

‘[The Quebec campaign] focused on the star system, because a lot of the actors are big stars in Quebec. We focused less on the stars and more on the director and the critical acclaim side,’ Slone says. The push consisted of a new trailer, promotional screenings, TV, print and web advertising, as well as a separate outreach to French-speaking communities in Toronto and Vancouver.

In Quebec, Darkness grossed nearly $1.5 million after 14 weeks, compared to Invasions, which brought in more than $6.2 million.

Also opening Friday is Tyler Perry’s comedy Meet the Browns, which bows on 13 screens through Maple Pictures. It will play on over 2,000 screens in the U.S. via Lionsgate.

Meanwhile, Equinoxe Films is releasing the crime drama Married Life, starring Pierce Brosnan and Rachel McAdams, on one screen each in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The same goes for Anchor Bay Entertainment’s poker comedy The Grand, from U.S. writer-turned-director Zak Penn.

Other U.S. releases for the frame are Paramount’s comedy Drillbit Taylor, starring Owen Wilson, and the horror Shutter, from 20th Century Fox.