In a year that was great for some and rotten for other Canadian independent distributors in English Canada, Quebec films soared with five features pulling in over $300,000 each in-province. Canadian films brought in $3.3 million in Quebec theaters in ’95, $3 million of which was earned by nine Quebec films.

Overall, Imax Films brought in the highest box office receipts in the country, with a total of $25 million reaped from its 12 screens in Canada. Attendance was about 4.2 million for the year. Top of the charts was the Imax-produced Into the Deep, which accumulated $6 million at the box office on four screens over a period of 18 to 28 weeks in each of four markets.

In traditional theaters, Canada’s number-one homegrown performer, Johnny Mnemonic, was also the second highest grossing Canadian feature in Quebec this year. Produced by Alliance Communications and released wide in Canada with 180 prints by Alliance Releasing, the picture took in just over $3 million across the country. In Quebec, the film did $231,879 in its original version and $533,842 in the French-track version.

On first glance, it appears Alliance’s 1995 box office tally is down from 1994’s $50.75 million to $43 million in the calendar year despite an increase in titles to over 60 from last year’s count of 53.

Alliance Releasing vp Tony Cianciotta says appearances can be deceiving. ‘We operate on a (April 1 to March 31) fiscal year basis and it has been a great year. All our big pictures are going to hit from (January) on through the rest of the (fiscal) year.’

Alliance’s lucrative subdistribution deals with u.s. companies such as Miramax, Fine Line and New Line, make for such upcoming titles as From Dust till Dawn, Beautiful Girls and The Last Man Standing.

Alliance’s top performer in 1995 was Seven, which was originally released on 200 screens and pulled in $11.7 million. Number two was Mortal Kombat, another wide release, which did $7.5 million.

The significant thing about these numbers, as well as the success of Il Postino ($1.1 million to date and still playing), says Cianciotta, is the percentage Alliance captures of what the Americans call the ‘domestic’ marketplace – i