Limited and VOD Releases: Serving a Fresh Dish of Revenge

May 11, 2018

Revenge

It is a busier week than average with quite a few limited releases that are earning great reviews, some of which are also earning loud buzz. Revenge is one such film and it is playing on Video on Demand, so you don’t have to go to a theater to see it.

Anything - Reviews
Earl moves to Los Angeles to be closer to his family, but begins a friendship with his neighbor, Freda, a trans woman. The reviews are barely in the overall positive level, which isn’t enough for a limited release.

Beast - Reviews
Jessie Buckley stars as a 27-year old woman who still lives with her family. She meets a handsome stranger and moves in with him. However, when he’s accused of being a murderer, she has to decide if she wants to stay by his side. This is one of the best-reviewed films on this week’s list and it is earning stronger than average buzz. I’m not totally convinced it will thrive in limited release, but it should do better than average.

Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat - Reviews
A documentary about Jean-Michel Basquiat, an artist who began to rise to fame as a teenager, but who died at the age of 27. The Tomatometer Score is 88% positive, but the average score is only 5.9 out of ten, which suggests it won’t do well in limited release.

Class Rank - Reviews
Video On Demand
Olivia Holt stars as a high school student who is trying to get into Yale and her plan involves overthrowing the high school government. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 80% positive, but its average score is just 5.8 out of 10, so I think it is best to rent it on VOD rather than see it in a theater.

The Day After - Reviews
A wife discovers her husband is cheating on her and goes to his work to confront him, but when she gets there, she mistakes his new secretary for his mistress. The film has earned some serious accolades, even being nominated for the Palme d'Or at last year’s Cannes film festival. Its reviews here are not that impressive, but it should still do relatively well on the art house circuit.

The Escape - Reviews
Video on Demand
Gemma Arterton stars as a housewife who decides to abandon her demanding family and runaway to Paris. The reviews are good, but it is playing on VOD, so most people will chose to watch it there instead of trekking out to the theater.

Filmworker - Reviews
A biographical documentary about Leon Vitali, who started out as an actor, but became a Stanley Kubrick assistant. The reviews are great and if you are a fan of movie history, then this is absolutely worth checking out.

Lu Over The Wall - Reviews
GKIDS is the only distributor that have even moderate success with animated films in limited release. This one won’t be one of its bigger hits, as the reviews are not quite at the level needed to thrive in limited release.

Measure of a Man - Reviews
A young boy has a terrible summer vacation with his parents fighting, his one friend away, and a bully picking on him. The reviews are merely mixed, so its box office chances are very weak.

Mountain - Reviews
A documentary about the highest mountain peaks on Earth and the people who climb them. It is narrated by Willem Dafoe and it is earning some of the best reviews of the week.

Revenge - Reviews
Video on Demand
A man brings his mistress on a hunting trip, but when one of his friends rapes his mistress, he’s more worried about what will happen to his marriage if she reports the crime, so he helps cover it up. The movie is called Revenge, so you can probably guess this doesn’t work out. Rape revenge movies tend to fall on the Exploitation end of things, but this movie turns the genre around and the end result is a film that rises above its origins. On the other hand, it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances remain grounded.

The Seagull - Reviews
Based on the Anton Chekhov play of the same name. The reviews are right on the edge between good and good enough for limited release. It does have a lot of star power, so perhaps it will do well during its opening weekend.

Terminal - Reviews
Video On Demand
A pair of hitmen, a teacher with a terminal illness, and others converge in this mess of a crime thriller. The reviews are terrible and it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are close to zero.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Another Kind of Wedding - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Assassin’s Code - Reviews - Video on Demand
Born Guilty - Reviews - Video on Demand
Higher Power - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Another Kind of Wedding and The Assassin’s Code each only have one review, but both reviews are positive.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Measure of a Man, Class Rank, Geu Hu, Mountain, Anything, Yoake tsugeru Rû no uta, The Seagull, Beast, Higher Power, Boom for Real: The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat, Filmworker, Revenge, Terminal, The Assassin’s Code, Another Kind of Wedding, The Escape, Born Guilty, Gemma Arterton, Willem Dafoe, Stanley Kubrick, John Carroll Lynch, Matt Bomer, Leon Vitali, Johnny Flynn, Olivia Holt, Jessie Buckley