Limited and VOD Releases: Week of Spectacular Limited Releases

June 15, 2018

The Year of Spectacular Men

There are not a lot of limited releases on this week’s list, and none of them stand out as potential box office hits. The Year of Spectacular Men has some of the loudest buzz and good reviews, but it is playing on Video on Demand, so it will likely do well there and not find an audience in theaters.

Eating Animals - Reviews
A documentary about the problems with factory farming. There are only nine reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all nine of them are positive. Also, the film is produced by Natalie Portman and that could give it a leg up at the box office, as it gives the film more star power than most documentaries can dream of.

Gabriel and the Mountain - Reviews
A Brazilian movie about a man who decides to push back college a year, so he can backpack across the world. The film focuses on his last location, Kenya, and his last destination, Mount Mulanje. This film’s reviews are right on the boarder between merely good and good enough to thrive in limited release. It is a foreign-language release and there is direct competition on this list, so its box office chances are weak.

Gotti - Reviews
This film is opening in 500 theaters and is widely expected to bomb. It managed just over $100,000 in previews last night, while all 13 of its reviews on Rotten Tomatoes are negative. There’s almost no chance this film will thrive in limited release.

Race 3 - Reviews
On most weeks, this would be the widest limited release of the week. However, Gotti has it beat this week. Gotti also managed worse reviews, which is quite a feat, as this film’s Tomatometer Score is just 17% positive.

A Skin So Soft - Reviews
A documentary about bodybuiding focusing on two veterans who have turned from competitions to training younger competitors. It only has seven reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which would normally not be enough to be included here. However, all seven reviews are positive, so it deserves to be mentioned.

The Third Murder - Reviews
This is one of the few films on this week’s list that has not only a good Tomatometer Score, but was also reviewed by a relatively large number of critics. Unfortunately, it is a foreign-language film, so its chances at mainstream success are limited.

The Year of Spectacular Men - Reviews
Video on Demand
Lea Thompson makes her directorial debut with a film that is currently earning 80% positive reviews. The film was also written by one of her daughters, Madelyn Deutch and stars Madelyn and Zoey Deutch, so it is a real family affair. Additionally, it is earning louder buzz than most films on this week’s list are earning, so it could find an audience in limited release.

The Yellow Birds - Reviews
This Iraq War drama is about a soldier who came home with PTSD and his fellow soldier who didn’t come home at all. The reviews are weak and it played on VOD last month, so its box office chances are very weak.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Affairs of State - Reviews - Video on Demand
Billy Boy - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Intersection - Reviews - Video on Demand
Set it Up - Reviews - Watch on Netflix
Set it Up is a Netflix original movie and while it doesn’t have a lot of reviews, the reviews it does have are nearly all positive.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, The Yellow Birds, Gotti, Sandome no satsujin, Eating Animals, Gabriel e a Montanha, Ta Peau si lisse, Set it Up, The Year of Spectacular Men, Affairs of State, Billy Boy, Race 3, Intersection, Natalie Portman, Lea Thompson, Zoey Deutch, Madelyn Deutch