Producer Liz Jarvis hopes Oscar-winning Hollywood thesp Ellen Burstyn will help drive American audiences to The Stone Angel, which debuts in the U.S. on six screens Friday, in competition with the mega-releases Hellboy II: The Golden Army and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Burstyn stars as feisty Hagar Shipley in the screen adaptation of the Margaret Laurence novel, directed by Kari Skogland. Angel will play in cities including New York, Los Angeles, Edina, MN and Bethesda, MD.

‘[Burstyn] is very beloved by Americans…and I think a lot of people in the U.S. will be curious to see what she’s doing,’ says Jarvis, who produces through Winnipeg’s Buffalo Gal Pictures. Vivendi distributes in the U.S.

Angel, currently in its ninth week in Canuck theaters, has totaled just over $450,000 up to July 3 for Alliance Films. It opened to a strong per-screen average of $6,600 in its first three days.

Jarvis says she’s gratified by the response to the drama from Canadian audiences, given the ‘daunting task’ of making a film based on a popular novel.

A theatrical release for Angel is also planned in the U.K., though no release date has been set. International sales agent is U.K.-based HandMade Films International. The film will be released on DVD in the fall through Alliance.

Meanwhile, Alliance is set to open the Montreal-shot adventure film Journey to the Center of the Earth, starring Brendan Fraser, on 190 Canadian screens, of which 67 will present the film in 3D. New Line Cinema handles distribution in the U.S., where the film will bow on more than 2,500 screens.

The weekend’s other wide releases are Universal’s Hellboy sequel, starring Ron Perlman, and the Eddie Murphy comedy Meet Dave, distributed by Fox.

Cannes Jury prize winner Silent Light, from Mexican director Carlos Reygades, opens at Toronto’s Royal cinema through Seville Pictures, alongside acclaimed Brazilian drama Alice’s House, from KinoSmith Films.

Mongrel Media will bow coming-of-age dramedy The Wackness at Toronto’s Varsity, with plans to expand to Vancouver and Montreal on July 25. Wackness, which garnered the audience award at Sundance this year, stars Ben Kingsley as a shrink to a patient who trades weed for therapy.