While it was no surprise that the Canadian box office was a little flat through February, it was even less of a revelation that Christal Films releases claimed the top two box office spots.

Quebec-made ensemble thriller Que Dieu bénisse L'Amérique broke past the sagging drama Histoire de Famille for top spot with a total gross of $76,000 in 16 venues and a healthy per-screen average of $4,800 as of Feb. 28, after debuting Feb. 17. Directed by Robert Morin, the politically minded film is set on the morning of 9/11 in a sleepy suburb and involves six suspicious neighbors.

Despite solid notices and substantial press, Sam Dunn and Scott McFadyen's Metal: A Headbanger's Journey debuted to less-than-heavy coin, ringing up a total of $22,600 on 11 prints. Seville Pictures will look to word of mouth to carry Dunn's anthropological study of metal music to a larger audience. The pic will get a U.K. run through Momentum on April 28, and a U.S. release through Warner following the San Franscisco Film Fest (which runs April 20 to May 4).

Elsewhere, Eve & the Fire Horse expanded to three theaters after openings in Ottawa and Victoria and grossed $13,168 over the Feb. 24 weekend. It was held over in Vancouver and has totaled $85,000 since its Jan. 27 release.

The March release slate includes an English-Canadian run for The Last Trapper, which arrives in Vancouver March 17 after a remarkably steady 15 weeks in two venues in Quebec. Director Sturla Gunnarsson's epic Beowulf & Grendel, starring Gerard Butler (The Phantom of the Opera), sweeps out across nine cities on 30 screens through Equinoxe on March 10.

John Hazlett's These Girls will screen around 20 prints in English Canada on March 24, following a March 4 opening of 21 prints in Quebec. The dark comedy starring David Boreanaz (Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and former MuchMusic VJ Amanda Walsh has also secured a U.S. distributor, Ardustry, but doesn't have a firm release date as of yet.

A pair of celebrated Winnipeg films also debut in March. Sean Garrity's Lucid hits March 17 on five screens across Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, followed by Niagara Hotel, directed by Gary Yates, on March 24, on three screens in Toronto and Vancouver.