Passchendaele is neck-and-neck with the year’s top-grossing domestic film and will likely surpass Quebec comedy Cruising Bar 2 by the end of the week, helped by Remembrance Day.

The First World War drama, directed by and starring Paul Gross, has generated $3.5 million after nearly four weeks for Alliance Films, bolstered by positive word of mouth and a well-timed Oct. 17 release on roughly 200 screens. It is currently playing in 155 theaters.

By comparison, Cruising Bar 2 took nearly 10 weeks to reach $3.5 million, though it faced a slew of Hollywood blockbusters including The Dark Knight over the summer. Its total box-office tally stands at $3.6 million for Alliance sister Vivafilm.

Passchendaele still has some work to do, however, if it is to surpass Gross’ previous feature as a director, the sports comedy Men with Brooms, which rang in over $4 million in 2002.

The film faces stiff competition from the highly anticipated Quantum of Solace on Friday, the second James Bond film featuring Daniel Craig.

Meanwhile, the TVA Films war drama Le déserteur rang in over $250,000 after two weeks in theaters — good for the number two spot on the Canuck chart for the week Oct. 31 to Nov. 6. Directed by first-time feature filmmaker Simon Lavoie, the film is about a Québécois deserter in the Second World War.

Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth added another $44,000 on nine screens in its second week, bringing its total earnings to $85,000 for Mongrel Media.

Rounding out the top five Canadian films is Philippe Falardeau’s C’est pas moi, je le jure!, with $408,000 after six weeks for Seville Pictures, followed by Olivier Asselin’s timely stock market-themed feature Un capitalisme sentimental with $12,000 in its first week via K-Films Amérique.