Montreal: Istvan Szabo’s historical coproduction saga Sunshine was poised to top the $300,000 mark at the box office as of Jan. 6, with the number of Canadian screens slated to increase from nine to 11 for the Jan. 7-9 weekend.

‘The film will have an additional rollout in other markets on Jan. 21 and in limited multiples in all the markets we’re already in,’ says Jim Sherry, senior vp and gm, Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution, the movie’s Canadian and u.k. distrib.

Sunshine opened on four Canadian screens in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, with an additional dubbed French-track print in Montreal, grossing $42,700 ($10, 675 per screen) over the opening Dec. 17-19 weekend.

A Hungary/Germany/Canada/ Austria coproduction, Sunshine stars Ralph Fiennes in multiple-character roles, chronicling three generations of Hungarian Jewish family history.

The film has won three 1999 European Film Awards, including best screenplay for Szabo and Israel Horovitz, and is nominated for 14 Genie Awards, including best motion picture. Robert Lantos of Serendipity Point Films and Andras Hamori of Alliance Atlantis are the producers.

Sherry anticipates a May release by Paramount Classics in the u.s.

In other distrub news from aac, the Denise Filiatrault comedy sequel Laura Cadieux…la suite, distributed in Quebec by Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, raked in $90,000 over the Dec. 17-19 weekend on more than 60 screens for a total three-week take of $601,758. The film was hovering near the $1-million box office mark as the new year began, according to data from exhibition consultancy Alex Films.