Limited and VOD Releases: A Short List or a List of Shorts
February 8, 2019
It is a rather long list of limited releases this week, but this is a case of quantity over quality and there’s not much here to get excited about. If you are into strange films with overly long titles, then The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Big Foot should be up your alley. However, the film most likely to find an audience is 2019 Oscar Shorts.
2019 Oscar Shorts - Reviews
Berlin, I Love You - Reviews
Everybody Knows - Reviews
Farinelli - Reviews
Lords of Chaos - Reviews
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Big Foot - Reviews
Peppa Celebrates Chinese New Year - Reviews
St. Agatha - Reviews
To Dust - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
Documentaries
Animated
Live Action
All of the Oscar nominated short films in three mini-film festivals. I’m most interested in the animated shorts, but the documentaries are earning the best reviews.
The latest in the Cities of Love franchise. If the reviews are any indication, it will be the last.
This is the biggest film on this week’s list in terms of buzz and star power. However, it’s reviews are merely good and not good enough for limited release.
A re-release of the 1995 film about the world’s most famous castrati, singers who were castrated as young boys to prevent them from going through puberty and ruining their voice. That sounds like incredible dedication to one’s art, but I’m pretty sure they were not given a choice. The DVD has been out of print for a long time, so hopefully enough people see this in theaters for it to get a re-release, perhaps even a Blu-ray release.
A sort-of true story of an early pioneer of Norwegian Death Metal. The reviews are good, but likely not good enough to thrive in limited release.
Video on Demand
What more do you need to know besides that name? It’s like too weird for limited release, but it could do well on VOD.
Normally I wouldn’t talk about a kids movie with no reviews, but this film could be a hit in China, so it is worth at least mentioning here.
Video on Demand
A horror movie about a pregnant con woman on the run who ducks into a convent to hide. It seems like a safe place to have her baby, but this is a horror movie, so you know things go wrong. The reviews are merely good and not good enough for limited release. Additionally, it is a horror movie and those rarely do well in limited release. Finally, it’s playing on VOD, which is where it will find its audience.
The story of a Hasidic Jew whose wife passes away. He can’t find comfort in his religion, so he turns to science instead. His goal is to learn how long it will take for his wife’s corpse to turn to dust, which he figures is the only way her soul will find peace. The reviews are 90% positive, so it could find an audience in the art house circuit. I don’t think it will expand significantly, on the other hand.
Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls - Reviews - Video on Demand
Beneath the Leaves - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Darkness Visible - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Divorce Party - Reviews - Video on Demand
Untogether - Reviews - Video on Demand
A Violent Man - Reviews - Video on Demand
Both Darkness Visible and The Divorce Party only have one review on Rotten Tomatoes, but in both cases, that one review is positive. Perhaps they are worth a VOD rental. Beneath the Leaves has no reviews, so it is a bigger risk, but perhaps one worth taking.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Farinelli, Lords of Chaos, Berlin, I Love You, Todos lo saben, St. Agatha, The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, A Violent Man, Benchwarmers 2: Breaking Balls, To Dust, Untogether, Darkness Visible, The Divorce Party, Beneath the Leaves, 2019 Oscar Shorts, Xiao zhu pei qi guo da nian, Cities of Love