Acclaimed drama J’ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother) from Xavier Dolan steps into English Canada on Friday, albeit cautiously, eight months after it burst onto the scene and collected nearly $1 million in la belle province.

Montreal distributor K-Films Amérique is trying the teen angst drama at Toronto’s Varsity and Canada Square, with plans to roll out in Vancouver and Ottawa in March, followed by various other cities in Ontario and B.C. by April.

The feature — which Dolan wrote, directed, produced and stars in — arrives amid a string of accolades including three awards at Cannes, and prizes at VIFF and TIFF. It was also Canada’s entry for best foreign film at the upcoming Academy Awards. It follows the volatile relationship between a homosexual teen and his working-class mother (Anne Dorval).

Dolan just wrapped post-production on his next film, the love story Heartbreaker (Les amours imaginaires).

Meanwhile, Alliance Films is courting female audiences with the well-timed romance drama Dear John, which arrives on 280 screens a week before Valentine’s Day. The film, starring Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!) and Channing Tatum (Step Up), follows the relationship between a college student and a soldier. It is based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook).

Countering John is the spy thriller From Paris with Love, opening on 211 screens through Maple Pictures. It stars John Travolta as a special agent who is sent to Paris to stop a terrorist attack. The film could see competition on Sunday from the Super Bowl, which may keep its target audience away from theaters.

Also opening on Friday:

• KinoSmith has the thriller Frozen, about three skiers who are stranded on a chairlift and are forced to make life or death decisions, starring Canuck thesp Shawn Ashmore. U.S. director Adam Green (Hatchet) recently screened the film at Sundance. It opens on five screens in Toronto and Ottawa.

• The gambling comedy Saint John of Las Vegas, also from KinoSmith, rolls out in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. The directorial debut of U.S. helmer Hue Rhodes stars Steve Buscemi as an ex-gambler who is lured back into the game by an insurance-fraud investigator.