Jay Baruchel-starrer ‘Goon’ Tops Oscar Weekend Box Office in Canada

TORONTO – Goon, the Jay Baruchel-starring local hockey comedy from director Michael Dowse, had a pucking blast on its opening weekend at the Canadian multiplex.

Distributor Alliance Films reports that the homegrown film filled with on-ice brutality beat out the Hollywood competition to take in an estimated $1.2 million through Sunday on 251 screens.

That’s impressive for Canadian films, which rarely pass the $1 million box-office mark against studio and other foreign film competition.

The Canadian bow for Goon bodes well for Magnolia Pictures’ Magnet division, which paid a reported $2 million for the U.S. rights to the picture after it debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Goon focuses on Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), a bouncer who uses his right hook and skates to help a downtrodden hockey team to new heights.

The ensemble cast also includes Liev Schreiber, Alison Pill and Marc-Andre Grondin.

Baruchel and Evan Goldberg, the frequent collaborator of Seth Rogen, wrote the script, inspired by the book Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey Into Minor League Hockey, written by Doug Smith and Adam Frattasio.

Baruchel also shares producer credits on the film with Don Carmody, David Gross and Jesse Shapira.

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