Give Me Limited Releases

September 11, 2009

Quite a few limited releases coming out this week, but none strike me as obvious box office successes. There are a few that have the reviews to suggest they could expand, but there are no obvious sleeper hits here.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt - Reviews
A remake of the 1956 film by Fritz Lang that is written and directed by Peter Hyams, who previously made A Sound of Thunder. Amazingly, this movie is earning weaker reviews than that film did, and will likely end its box office run with less money. The only good news is this movie cost an estimated $25 million, so it won't go down as one of the biggest box office bombs of all time, at least not in terms of absolute dollars lost. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt opens tonight in half-a-dozen theaters split between New York City and the Los Angeles area.

Broken Hill - Reviews
The widest release of the week, but not the best-reviewed release of the week. In fact, so far there are only 3 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but at least most of them are positive. The film also has a good cast for a limited release with a number of actors with name recognition. Speaking of the cast, Alexa Vega dropped out of Shorts to play Kat in this film. She was replaced in that movie by Kat Dennings, whose next film is Defendor, where she plays a prostitute named Kat. Strange. Broken Hill opens tonight in nearly 50 theaters, mostly in Texas and Utah, but that could be as wide as it goes.

Give Me Your Hand - Reviews
A story of French twins who travel to Spain for the funeral of their estranged mother. So far the film has not earned a lot of reviews, and most of them are negative, which could really hurt its box office potential. Give Me Your Hand opens tonight that the Quad Cinema in New York City.

Mary Pickford, The Muse of All Movies - Review
A documentary about silent film star, Mary Pickford, who also was a major player in the early days of Hollywood and helped found United Artists, Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and other major institutes that survive to this day. The film opened on Wednesday at the Laemmle Grande 4 Plex in Los Angeles for is Oscar qualifying run, but hopefully it will earn a full release before too long.

No Impact Man - Reviews
A documentary about a family that decided to see if they could live a lifestyle that had zero negative impact on the environment. One of the better reviewed limited releases of the week, but it might be a bit too early to grab some Awards Season buzz. If it manages to do so, it could have a long run ahead of it. No Impact Man opens tonight in two theaters, the Angelika Film Center in New York City and the Laemmle Royal in Los Angeles.

Walt and El Grupo - Reviews
A documentary about Walt Disney and the goodwill trip he made in 1941 to South America to drum up support for the United States. (At the time, there were a lot of people who were worried many nations there would join Nazi Germany's side during World War II, which would have likely cost the Allies the victory.) This is not a hard-hitting expose and a lot of critics are calling it a vanity piece, but it should still interest those with a passion for the history of Disney. But I'm not sure there's enough of those for the film to thrive in limited release. Walt and El Grupo opens tonight in three theaters, two in the Los Angeles area and the other in New York City.

White on Rice - Reviews
A romantic comedy about a 40-year old divorced man trying to get on with his life, but he's stuck sharing a bunk with his 10-year old nephew in the meantime. The film doesn't have a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but they are better than most romantic comedies earn. However, better than average for a romantic comedy is likely not good enough to thrive in limited release. White on Rice opens tonight in two theaters in Los Angeles.


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Filed under: Limited Releases, Broken Hill, No Impact Man, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, White On Rice, Walt and El Grupo, Mary Pickford, The Muse of All Movies