Limited and VOD Releases: I am Not Waiting for Quality Limited Release
September 7, 2018
We are in an awkward time for limited releases, as summer is over, but it is still too early for Awards Season buzz. This explains why there are so few releases on this week’s list and why none of them will likely be hits. That said, there are two of them, I am Not a Witch and Nelly, that have 100% positive reviews.
The Apparition - Reviews
Bisbee ‘17 - Reviews
Cold Skin - Reviews
Five Fingers for Marseilles - Reviews
Hal - Reviews
I am Not a Witch - Reviews
Kusama: Infinity - Reviews
Nelly - Reviews
The Ranger - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
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An investigative journalist is sent by the Vatican to a small town in France, where a young woman claims to have been visited by the Virgin Mary. The film’s reviews are good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release.
A documentary about the small town of Bisbee, Arizona, which in 1917 exiled 1,200 striking immigrant miners to the desert to die. The current residents help recreate these events to help come to terms with the towns horrific past. The film is earning some of the best reviews of the week and it could do well on the art house circuit. I don’t think it will earn any measure of mainstream success, on the other hand.
Video on Demand
We talked about this film in the past, but it was pushed back at the last minute. Its reviews haven’t improved since then and now its playing on VOD, so its box office chances are even weaker.
In his younger days, Tau helped take on police brutality. Now he’s returned later in life in the hope of having a calmer life; however, police corruption is still a problem and one he’ll have to fight again. The film’s reviews are good, perhaps good enough to thrive in limited release.
A documentary about Hal Ashby. The documentary argues that while he made some amazing movies, he didn’t get the recognition he deserved. The reviews are 90% positive, but the average rating is just 6.4 out of 10, so I don’t think it will escape the art house circuit.
When there’s an accident in her village, 8-year old Shula is accused of being a witch and sent to a witches camp. The reviews are 100% positive and they are mostly enthusiastically positive, so it could thrive in limited release. That said, it isn’t the type of film that will expand enough to earn a true measure of mainstream success.
A documentary about Yayoi Kusama, who was an incredibly popular artist in the 1960s, but whose mental illness derailed her career for years. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 82% positive, but its average review is only 6.7 out of 10, so while most critics liked it, not many loved it.
This movie is based on the first book by Nelly Arcan, which was a semi-autobiographical look at her life as a prostitute. There are only five reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all five are positive and most are enthusiastically positive. That said, I don’t expect it to escape the art house circuit.
One of the few limited releases coming out this week that has more than a dozen reviews ... and it’s a teenage slasher, which is a genre that almost never does well in limited release. Additionally, it’s reviews are good, but not great, so that’s another obstacle for the film to overcome. It could do well on the home market, on the other hand.
Age of Summer - Reviews - Video on Demand
Alright Now - Reviews - Video on Demand
Edge of Obedience - Reviews - Video on Demand
Lost Fare - Reviews - Video on Demand
Mara - Reviews - Video on Demand
Age of Summer is the only secondary VOD release of the week with more positive reviews than negative ones, and even then, it’s by a 2-1 margin.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Kusama: Infinity, Nelly, Songbird, La Piel Fria, I am Not a Witch, Hal, L’apparition, The Ranger, Mara, Bisbee ‘17, Five Fingers for Marseilles, Age of Summer, Edge of Obedience, Lost Fare, Hal Ashby, Vuyo Dabula, Nelly Arcan, Yayoi Kusama, Maggie Mulubwa