John Rambo was back with a vengeance this past weekend, as the fourth chapter in the Sylvester Stallone franchise placed number one at the Canadian box office, raking in over $2 million for distributor Maple Pictures.

Rambo edged out the comedy spoof Meet the Spartans, which made $1.3 million in Canada for 20th Century Fox.

The tables were turned in the U.S., however, where Rambo came in at number two with US$18.2 million for Lionsgate, while Spartans rang in a slightly better $18.7 million — good for top spot at the weekend box office. Spartans is writer/director duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer’s follow-up to last year’s spoof Epic Movie, as well as the Scary Movie franchise.

‘We’re very happy with the Canadian success of Rambo. The franchise has proven its staying power and relevance to audiences. We’re looking for a strong second weekend,’ Maple SVP of theatrical distribution John Bain tells Playback Daily. Rambo will keep its 259 screens in Canada, according to Maple. The actioner bowed on 2,800 screens in the U.S.

The weekend’s other new release, the Canadian dance drama How She Move, grossed $128,157 at home for a per-screen average of just over $4,000. The heavily promoted film, carried here by Mongrel Media, failed to crack the top 10 in the U.S., where it managed only $4.2 million on 1,500 screens, according to Variety.

How She Move, distributed in the U.S. by Paramount Vantage, the specialty film division of Paramount Pictures, generated positive reviews in Variety, Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times.