Limited and VOD Releases: Will it be Good Night for Limited Releases?

June 7, 2019

Late Night

Late Night should be the biggest box office hit of the week with an already scheduled wide expansion next weekend. However, it isn’t the only film that has a chance to do well. The Last Black Man in San Francisco is also earning some strong buzz, while there are a number of documentaries vying for audiences this week.

Bharat Reviews
 This is the widest limited release of the week playing in 350 theaters; however, it only has one review and it is negative.

Framing John DeLorean - Reviews
 Video on Demand
A biopic about John DeLorean, yes, the man behind the famous car. The film has a lot of star power, especially compared to most limited releases, while its reviews are excellent. However, it is also playing on VOD, so its box office chances are negligible.

Funan - Reviews
 An animated film about the atrocities during the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s through the eyes of one woman who is trying to reunite her family. The reviews are amazing and GKIDS has had some success at the box office. That said, it is always an uphill challenge for animated films in limited release.

The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil - Reviews
 This film was a major hit in its native South Korea and with a Tomatometer Score of over 90%, it could do well in limited release. Granted, it’s not the right genre for the art house circuit, as action / thrillers rarely thrive in limited release. That said, Korean movies are starting to develop a following here and these films are due for a breakout hit. Maybe this will be the one. Or maybe it will have to wait till the home market to find an audience.

Katie Says Goodbye - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Olivia Cooke stars as the titular Katie, a 17-year old who turns to prostitution in order to escape her small town and find a better life in San Francisco. Unfortunately, the film is so cruel to its lead character that it is a turn off for most critics.

The Last Black Man in San Francisco - Reviews
 Jimmie Fails stars as a man trying to turn his grandfather’s old house in San Francisco into his home. However, gentrification and other issues threaten his dream. The film’s reviews are among the best of the week and it has more pre-release buzz than most limited releases have, so it could do well in theaters.

Late Night - Reviews
 This film was supposed to open wide this week, but it went limited release with a wide expansion next week at the last minute. That’s not a good sign. Its reviews are good, but not good enough to overcome this massive change in release strategy this close to its release date.

The Lavender Scare - Reviews
 A documentary about “The Lavender Scare”, i.e. the American’s government attempt to purge all gay and lesbians from the government. The reviews are 100% positive and it is sadly still relevant today.

Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk - Reviews
 A documentary about caddies, the forgotten part of golf. The film’s reviews are on the border between merely good and good enough for limited release; however, it is narrated by Bill Murray, so that might give it an advantage on the competition.

Papi Chulo - Reviews
 Matt Bomer and Alejandro Patino star as a TV weatherman and a Latino immigrant worker respectively. The film focuses on their unlikely friendship. Unfortunately, its reviews are merely good and not good enough to thrive in limited release. That said, it’s worth checking out when it hits the home market.

Pavarotti - Reviews
 Ron Howard’s documentary about Luciano Pavarotti is one of the biggest releases of the week. It is not one of the best, on the other hand. Its reviews are good enough to survive in limited release, but they are not award-worthy. That said, the film could do very well at the box office, at least compared to most documentaries.

The Raft - Reviews
 A documentary about “The Acali Expedition”, an experiment that took a diverse group of people and put them on a raft in the middle of the ocean to see what would happen. I don’t think you could do the same experiment today, because there are obvious ethics violations that come to mind. The reviews are good enough to do well in limited release, but there are a lot of documentaries coming out this week, so the competition is tight.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Changeland - Reviews - Video on Demand
Project Ithaca - Reviews - Video on Demand
Changeland’s reviews are good enough for a VOD rental, while Project Ithaca has no reviews, so it’s a riskier choice.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Katie Says Goodbye, Changeland, Late Night, Framing John DeLorean, Papi Chulo, Pavarotti, Loopers: The Caddie’s Long Walk, Funan, Flotten, The Last Black Man in San Francisco, Project Ithaca, Bharat, Akinjeon, The Lavender Scare, Ron Howard, Bill Murray, Alejandro Patino, Luciano Pavarotti, Matt Bomer, Olivia Cooke, Jimmie Fails