Limited and VOD Releases: Some Gorgeous Limited Releases

June 29, 2018

GLOW: Season Two

There are not many limited releases on this week’s list and almost none of them have a real shot at mainstream success. That said, there are still several that are earning absolutely amazing reviews. The film with the best shot at mainstream success is probably Leave No Trace, with its 100% positive reviews. That said, I’m going to suggest something different, GLOW: Season Two on Netflix. It just started streaming today and I may have watched half of the season while working on this column.

The Cakemaker - Reviews
A German baker has an affair with a closet, married Israeli man, but when his lover dies, he travels to Israel and meets with his lover’s widowed wife, without telling her the truth about what his relationship to her dead husband was. This is one of two films with 100% positive reviews on this week’s list. It is a foreign-language film, so its box office chances are still not great, but it should do well in the art house scene.

Custody - Reviews
A French film about a messy divorce and the son stuck in the middle. The reviews are amazing and French films do have a better shot at box office success than most other foreign-language films do. That said, foreign-language films rarely escape the art house circuit.

Dark River - Reviews
Ruth Wilson stars as Alice, a woman whose father just died and has to go home to her farm and confront the trauma there. The film’s reviews are right on the border between merely good and good enough to thrive in limited release. There are a number of films like that on this week’s list. Hopefully one of them will succeed.

Ideal Home - Reviews
Video on Demand
Steve Coogan and Paul Rudd star as a gay couple whose lives are upended when a 10-year old boy shows up and claims to be Steve Coogan’s grandson. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 80% positive, but the average score is just 6.1 out of 10, so while most critics liked the movie, few loved it. That said, that’s pefect for a VOD rental.

Leave No Trace - Reviews
Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie play a father and daughter who have been living off the grid. When they run afoul of social services, they try to get back to their lives in the woods. Not only is the film’s Tomatometer Score 100% positive, the average score given out by the critics is 8.4 out of 10. That’s stunning. This strongly suggests it could have a real future at the box office.

Love, Cecil - Reviews
A Biopic of Cecil Beaton, two-time Oscar winning costume designer, who was also a fashion photographer, painter, and war photographer. That’s an impressive life. This film could do well in limited release, as art house crowds tend to love movies that celebrate movies. However, the reviews are a little on the weak side to truly thrive.

Sanju - No Reviews
A Bollywood biopic of Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt, here played by Ranbir Kapoor. There are no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but that’s common for a Bollywood release. The film is playing in over 350 theaters, so it has a real shot at well over $1 million and spot in the top ten.

This is Congo - Reviews
A documentary about Congo and its seemingly never-ending series of conflicts. The reviews are over 90% positive, but as a political documentary, its box office chances are limited.

Three Identical Strangers - Reviews
A documentary about a set of identical triplets who were adopted to three different families and who were accidentally reunited when they were 19 years old. The film’s reviews are over 90% positive, so it could do well at the box office, at least for a documentary.

Woman Walks Ahead - Reviews
Video on Demand
Jessica Chastain plays the real life Catherine Weldon, an artist who traveled to meet with Sitting Bull, played by Michael Greyeyes. The reviews are mixed and it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are close to zero. That said, it could be worth the $7 for a rental.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Black Water - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Domestics - Reviews - Video on Demand
Escape Plan 2: Hades - Reviews - Video on Demand
There are two films starring 80s action stars on this week’s list. Neither are earning good reviews, not even “good enough for a VOD rental”.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, The Domestics, The Cakemaker, Woman Walks Ahead, Dark River, Leave No Trace, Black Water, Three Identical Strangers, Love, Cecil, Jusqu'à la garde, Escape Plan 2: Hades, Sanju, Ideal Home, This is Congo, Jessica Chastain, Steve Coogan, Ben Foster, Ranbir Kapoor, Paul Rudd, Sanjay Dutt, Ruth Wilson, Michael Greyeyes, Thomasin McKenzie, Jack Gore