Limited and VOD Releases: Mr. Postman, Deliver Me a Hit
December 22, 2017
It’s Christmas weekend, and, while there are a large number of wide releases, there are not that many limited ones. Some of them, like The Post, are going for Oscar glory. Others just feel like they are being dumped into theaters to disappear.
All the Money in the World - Reviews
Bright - Reviews
Crooked House - Reviews
Happy End - Reviews
Hostiles - Reviews
Molly’s Game - Reviews
Phantom Thread - Reviews
The Post - Reviews
The Two of Us - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
This film is actually opening in wide release on Christmas Day. I didn’t include it in yesterday’s predictions, because it isn’t technically opening over the weekend, but there won’t be another prediction story until after this film debuts, so it is stuck here. It did pick up three Golden Globes Nominations, including one for Christopher Plummer. Speaking of Christopher Plummer, this is the movie where he replaced Kevin Spacey, after the Kevin Spacey scandal broke. The fact that the filmmakers took that scandal seriously enough to replace the actor even after the film was done is impressive.
Video on Demand
This movie is set in a world where humans, orcs, elves, and faries live side-by-side. Will Smith stars as a human cop and Joel Edgerton as an orc cop, who are partners. The reviews are terrible, but Netflix is already talking about doing a sequel, so they are clearly bullish about this movie. It is being released for streaming on the platform simultaneously.
Video on Demand
An Agatha Christie adaptation about a rich family whose patriarch dies. They then hire a private detective to find the killer before the police investigation uncovers troubling family secrets. The reviews are great and the cast has a lot of star power, so it could find an audience in limited release. However, it is already playing on VOD and it is scheduled to come out on Blu-ray in just under four weeks. It is worth checking out, but watching it at home is probably the way to go.
This film is earning good reviews, but not great ones, so it would normally struggle in limited release. However, the competition in theaters is really strong this time of year, so it could be completely overlooked by moviegoers.
Given this film’s cast and release date, one has to assume it was made to win awards. However, its Tomatometer score is only 67% positive. That would be fine for a wide release, but it is almost always fatal for a limited release. Add in the number of films on this list that already earned Awards Season nominations and there’s almost no chance this film will do well in limited release.
Jessica Chastain stars as the titular Molly Bloom, an Olympic skier who also hosted the biggest illegal poker game in the country; ones that included the Russian mafia. No one would accept this as a script if it weren’t based on real life. The film’s reviews are not quite award-worthy, but it has picked up a couple of Golden Globes nominations. On a side note, it is one of three films opening on Christmas on this week’s list.
Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a fashion designer, a performance that has already earned him a Golden Globes nomination. This is one of the best-reviewed films on this week’s list; however, it doesn’t open until Christmas Day, so keep that in mind.
This film was clearly made to win Oscars. You can’t look at the talent on both sides of the camera and not come to that conclusion. I don’t think its reviews are Oscar-worthy, but it did earn six Golden Globes Nominations, so that should help its chances.
A re-release of a 1960s French film. It is set during World War II and follows a young Jewish boy who moves to the country with a Catholic family to avoid the Nazis. The young boy becomes close with the grandfather of the family, who bonds with the boy, not knowing the boy is Jewish.
Hangman - Reviews - Video On Demand
I dumped this movie into the secondary VOD list, because while it has more than 10 reviews, only one of them is positive. Skip it.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Molly’s Game, Bright, The Post, Phantom Thread, Happy End, All the Money in the World, Crooked House, Hostiles, Le Vieil homme et l enfant, Hangman, Will Smith, Kevin Spacey, Jessica Chastain, Daniel Day-Lewis, Joel Edgerton, Christopher Plummer, Agatha Christie