Limited and VOD Releases: Tragic Fate for Those who Miss these Films

October 20, 2017

Tragedy Girls

There isn’t a huge selection of limited releases this week, but there are several earning excellent reviews, such as 120 Beats Per Minute, Jane, Tragedy Girls, and others. Additionally, films like The Killing of a Sacred Deer and Wonderstruck are earning merely good reviews, but have enough buzz that they could still do well in theaters.

120 Beats Per Minute - Reviews
This film is set in France in the 1990s and focuses on a group of AIDS activists as they try and force the government to do more to combat the growing AIDS epidemic. The film is earning some of the best reviews of the week, but it still has an uphill battle to find an audience, as it is a foreign-language film.

Golmaal Again - Reviews
A Bollywood film about a group of men who were raised in the same orphanage who reunite as adults. It is the widest limited release of the week playing in over 250 theaters, but it only has one review on Rotten Tomatoes and it is negative.

Jane - Reviews
Jane Goodall is the subject of this documentary biopic. Its reviews are unanimously positive at the moment, while its subject is well-known enough to draw in moviegoers. On the other hand, it is a documentary and those rarely have breakout success.

Jungle - Reviews
Video on Demand
Daniel Radcliffe’s post-Harry Potter career has been filled with films that having interesting premises, but didn’t nail the execution. In this movie, he plays a man stranded in the Amazon jungle who has to survive despite having no training and inadequate supplies. You don’t need to rush out to theaters to see it, but $7 to rent or $10 to buy isn’t a bad deal.

Killing Gunther - Reviews
Video On Demand
Is Arnold Schwarzenegger entering the direct-to-VOD stage of his career? If so, it will take a while before he reaches full Nicolas Cage.

The Killing of a Sacred Deer - Reviews
This is one of the bigger limited releases of the week, at least in terms of cast. Its reviews, on the other hand, are right on the border between merely good and good enough to thrive in limited release. The star power should help it out during its opening weekend, but its legs will likely be an issue.

Kills on Wheels - Reviews
A group of friends who are all confined to wheelchairs decide to become hitmen for the mafia. That’s a strange premise, probably too strange to find an audience, despite its impressive reviews.

Leatherface - Reviews
Video on Demand
This is a horror film that is earning bad reviews while playing on VOD. That’s three strikes for its box office chances. On a side note, don’t try to give horror film villains sympathetic back stories. It doesn’t work.

Tempestad - Reviews
A documentary about the systemic corruption in Mexico. It is an important topic and the reviews are stellar, but I’m not sure it will resonate with audiences here.

Tragedy Girls - Reviews
Alexandra Shipp and Brianna Hildebrand star as two best friends who want to be famous, so they decide to track down a serial killer and report on their progress online. When they catch him, they decide they could get more famous reporting on his crimes, so they become copycat killers and frame him for their murders. This is only the second release from Gunpowder and Sky. Their first release earned more than $1 million in limited release, so it will be interesting to see if this one will do the same.

Wonderstruck - Reviews
Out of all of the films on this week’s list, this is the one I was most looking forward to seeing. Unfortunately, the reviews are only good and not great, so it might struggle to find an audience in theaters. That said, it is worth checking out, even if you wait for VOD.

Secondary VOD Releases:
The Bachelors - Reviews - Video on Demand
Bad Day for the Cut - Reviews - Video On Demand
Dealt - Reviews - Video on Demand
Never Here - Reviews - Video on Demand
Nightworld - Reviews - Video on Demand
There are five secondary VOD releases this week and almost all of them are earning great reviews. Unfortunately, none of them have enough reviews to be mentioned above and that suggests quiet buzz. This is a really bad omen for their box office chances.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Nightworld, Wonderstruck, Tiszta Szívvel, Leatherface, Never Here, Dealt, Killing Gunther, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Tragedy Girls, The Bachelors, 120 battements par minute, Jungle, Golmaal Again, Bad Day for the Cut, Jane, Tempestad, Harry Potter, Nicolas Cage, Daniel Radcliffe, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jane Goodall, Brianna Hildebrand, Alexandra Shipp