Limited and VOD Releases: Sticking the Landing
July 21, 2017
Looking at this week’s list of limited releases, it is hard to come up with any film that has a real shot at box office success. Landline has the loudest buzz, but its reviews are merely good. All of the rest of the films are either foreign-language films or are playing on VOD and both of those factors will limit their box office chances.
The Fencer - Reviews
Killing Ground - Reviews
Kuso - Reviews
Landline - Reviews
The Midwife - Reviews
The Untamed - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
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A man, Endel, leaves Russia for Estonia to escape the secret police. There he becomes a teacher and starts a sports club to teach kids fencing. However, while he becomes an inspiration to the kids, the principal becomes jealous and begins to dig into his background. This film is earning great reviews, but there are a lot of other great films to choose from. Additionally, as a foreign-language film, its chances at box office success are limited.
Video on Demand
A couple decide to go on a romantic camping trip, but while they are there, they find an abandoned camp site and a lone baby. Since this is a horror movie, you can guess things don’t improve from that point. The reviews are excellent, but it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are nearly zero.
Video on Demand
An anthology about the ruined remains of a post-earthquake Los Angeles. The reviews are mixed, but they are also very divisive. Those who don’t like the movie, tend to hate it. On the other hand, if you are subscribed to Shudder on Amazon, you can watch it VOD for free. If you are not subscribed, it only costs $5 a month, so if you are interested in this movie, then it is worth the price.
Out of all of the films on this week’s list, this is the one with the most buzz. It does have a great cast, which should help its box office numbers during its opening weekend. However, its reviews are merely good and as I’ve said in the past merely good usually isn’t good enough for limited release. I’m sure it will do better when it comes out on VOD.
Claire is a midwife, going through a crisis, when her late father’s former mistress, Béatrice, reenters her life. Claire has no time for this woman, until Béatrice confesses she has cancer and no one to turn to. The reviews are more than 90% positive and French films do have a sizable audience on the art house circuit. I don’t expect the film to be a mainstream hit, but it should do a lot better than most limited releases manage.
A dysfunctional family find a meteorite and thus encounter a strange creature. The reviews are fantastic and there is a large Spanish speaking population that is being a more and more important target demographic. On the other hand, comedies tend to do the best business with this audience, so I’m not sure how much success it will have in theaters.
The 4th - Reviews - Video on Demand
First Kill - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Gracefield Incident - Reviews - Video on Demand
There are three secondary VOD releases this week and combined they don’t have a single positive review. That’s actually impressive.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Sage femme, First Kill, La Region Salvaje, Killing Ground, Landline, The Gracefield Incident, , Kuso, The 4th, Catherine Deneuve, Catherine Frot, Märt Avandi