As promised, Telefilm Canada is introducing a new yardstick by which to measure the success of the Canadian film projects it supports, and the Canadian film industry overall.

The broader, more comprehensive “Success Index” was introduced at Telefilm’s Annual Public Meeting in Winnipeg on Wednesday.

The index is made up of weighted attributes in three categories: commercial, which comprises 60% of the total index and includes box office receipts in Canada, plus gross domestic and international sales; cultural, comprising 30%: of the index and including the number of selections and prizes at international festivals and events; and industrial, comprising the remaining 10% and including the ratio of private versus public funding in productions supported by Telefilm.

Previously, Telefilm measured only box office receipts.

However now, the Index will measure sales and high-profile nods such as Genie or Oscar nominations and national and international film festival recognition.

“We feel it’s going to be a very useful tool not only for measuring Telefilm success, but also film success,” Carolle Brabant, Telefilm executive director and CEO tells Playback. “It’s going to be a broader measure, not just focusing on commercial, but also cultural aspects of the success of the film. What’s unique about in the proposal we have is that we’re bringing these three elements together.”

In addition to providing a yardstick for the success of Canadian film, it will also “enable Telefilm to provide more strategic, better-targeted support to the industry in the years ahead,” Brabant said in a statement.

Brabant says she hopes the index will help Telefilm invest in more projects with a chance at commercial and critical success.

“I think that success brings success,” she quips.

Alongside introducing the new Success Index, Telefilm also unveiled its 2010-2011 annual report, which revealed a combined $35 million global box office for Denis Villeneuve’s Incendies and Richard J. Lewis’ Barney’s Version (pictured) and an overall domestic market share for Canadian film of 3.1% (still below the organization’s much maligned 5% goal, which it announced it was abandoning last winter).

The report also pegged the number of Canadian copros at 57 in the 2010-2011 measurement year, which the report said injected a total of over $200 million foreign dollars into the Canadian film space.