Maple Pictures marks one of its biggest recent releases Friday with the comic book adaptation Kick-Ass.

The film about a nerdy teen turned superhero looks to target fanboys as it opens on 338 screens in Canada, comparable to Maple’s 2006 bow of Saw III, while Lionsgate takes it to 3,000 screens stateside. It is based on Mark Millar’s comic book series and stars Aaron Johnson, Nicholas Cage and Chloe Moretz.

The film stirred some controversy over the graphic violence involving tweens and the foul language uttered by Moretz’s character Hit Girl, an 11-year-old assassin. Kick-Ass carries an 18A rating in Ontario.

The week’s other wide release is Sony’s comedy Death at a Funeral, starring Chris Rock and Martin Lawrence, out on 2,400 screens.

Also opening Friday:

• Alliance Films has the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo — based on the popular Stieg Larsson novel which follows a mysterious private investigator — on 23 screens in cities including Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Halifax.

• Australian drama The Square, about a man whose life begins to unravel when his mistress brings him a bag of cash, will have an exclusive screening at Toronto’s Cumberland via Alliance Films.