Canadian horror movie ‘Splice,’ starring Sarah Polley and Adrien Brody, has been named the highest-grossing Canadian film of 2010.

Director Vincenzo Natali and co-writer Doug Taylor were awarded with the Golden Box Office Award this morning at a Toronto genetics lab, presented by Telefilm Canada. The two men each received a cheque for $20,000.

In the film, Polley and Brody play scientists who create a horrific human-animal hybrid that goes goes psycho.

The film grossed $2.1 million in domestic box office sales and $26.9 million worldwide.

“Making movies is much like making a monster, you don’t know what terror you’ve wrought until it has escaped from the lab,” Natali said in a statement.

“The fact that ‘Splice’ was a box office success in its native country is another testament to Telefilm’s foresight and their faith in Canadian filmmakers to produce popular entertainment. Without their support this strange but beautiful creature could never have come to life.”

Last year, the award was handed to the director and writers of ‘Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day.’ That film grossed $2.9 million in Canada in 2009.

Wow, I had no idea this film grossed that much. I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill horror film, but apparently not – congrats to the filmmakers for giving Canadians a good name.

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Before you rush to theatres next weekend to see Wes Anderson’s fifth feature film, The Darjeeling Limited, be sure to watch the short film that precedes the story.

The 13-minute short entitled Hotel Chevalier stars Jason Schwartzman (one of the Darjeeling leads) and Natalie Portman. It was made a year before filming of Darjeeling even began. Originally intended to stand alone as a short film, Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) realized that Schwartzman’s character was perfect for the feature film he was envisioning.

Portman appears nude in the short, and has a tiny cameo in Darjeeling. Though it is not necessary to see the short to understand her relationship with Schwartzman?s character in the full-length film, Anderson says Chevalier does flesh out the story.

“My ideal thing would be to have the audience member come over to my apartment and watch the short on my computer and the next day they’d watch the movie in the theater,” he told the Wall Street Journal.

Hotel Chevalier premieres tonight at Apple stores in selected American cities, but will be available starting tomorrow as a free download on iTunes.

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