The joint push by Capri Releasing and Mongrel Media paid off for Away from Her, which connected with audiences over its debut weekend and generated nearly $63,000 on nine screens at the Canadian box office.

‘Given that we were opening against Spider-Man 3, and with what was generally very nice weather this weekend, I think it’s a strong number,’ Mongrel director of theatrical releasing Tom Alexander tells Playback Daily.

Sarah Polley’s first feature, about the devastating effect of Alzheimer’s disease on a long-married couple, had a per-screen average of $7,000 and placed either number one or two in most of the complexes it opened on in Toronto and Vancouver, says Alexander.

‘The places where we were second, the number one film was Spider-Man, so that’s very favorable,’ he says, noting the film’s performance was pretty much in line with what they expected.

In the U.S., where Away from Her opened on two screens each in Los Angeles and New York via Lionsgate, the film grossed a an impressive $54,000.

Away from Her expands to other key markets in Canada Friday for the Mother’s Day weekend, including Victoria, Edmonton, Montreal, Halifax and St. John’s.