The past year-plus has been marked by an outpouring of patriotic fervour that’s unusual for Canada. It’s shown up in what we choose from the grocery shelf, where we vacation, and how we respond to the Star-Spangled Banner at sporting events. But when it comes to movies, we are still — for the most part — watching American flicks far more than we’re watching Canadian ones. There are some early signs that may be starting to change.
At the start of this year, a report with apocalyptic undertones for homegrown movies was released. It found that box office receipts for Canadian-made movies (not the many Hollywood productions filmed in Canada) in 2025 were down 41% compared to the year before. Canadian movies made a paltry $13.9 million in theatres, accounting for just 1.7% of all titles seen by Canadians that year. It was the worst result on record for a year not affected by the pandemic.
Fast forward to today and the forecast is not so bleak — in fact, it’s inspiring. Less than halfway through the year and 2026 is already turning out to be a banner year for Canadian film.
Success is a relative thing for a Canadian movie. There are no blockbuster hits like there are in the U.S. But, taken on its own terms, English-speaking Canada’s domestic film industry (Quebec is an entirely different beast we won’t get into) has produced several bona fide hits this year along with multiple critical darlings. Films like hockey drama Youngblood and coming-of-age comedy Mile End Kicks have topped the $500,000 mark at the box office, which (in Canadian terms) means they are both unqualified hits. Meanwhile Blue Heron and Dead Lover have received rave notices inside and outside the country.
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