Limited and VOD Releases: Limited Releases won’t be Erased
November 2, 2018
There are a few limited releases on this week’s list that could do well in theaters; A Private War, Bodied, and Boy Erased should do well. On the other hand, if you are not interested in heading out to the theaters, Possum is a great choice for Video on Demand.
Bodied - Reviews
Boy Erased - Reviews
Distant Constellation - Reviews
Entanglement - Reviews
The Grief of Others - Reviews
Maria by Callas - Reviews
Number 37 - Reviews
The Other Side of the Wind - Reviews
Possum - Reviews
A Private War - Reviews
Prospect - Reviews
Searching For Ingmar Bergman - Reviews
Unlovable - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
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A rap comedy produced by Eminem. The film’s reviews are good, probably good enough to do well in limited release. There is enough pre-release buzz to help draw in audiences, so I think it will be one of the better box office performers on this week’s list.
This film is inspired by a true story of a 19-year old man who is outed to his family and forced to choose between going to gay conversion therapy or be exiled from his family and community. Out of all of the films on this week’s list, this one is earning the best pre-release buzz. On the other hand, its reviews might not be strong enough to thrive in limited release.
A documentary about the residents of a Turkish retirement home. This is one of several documentaries coming out this week and this one’s box office chances are somewhere in the middle. It doesn’t have a lot of buzz, but solid reviews could help it do well, compared to the genre’s average.
Video on Demand
Thomas Middleditch plays a man that almost committed suicide and who learns that, when he was a child, his parents nearly adopted a sister. He then sets out to find the now adult woman, Hannah, to see what might have been. The film’s reviews are just under the overall positive level, which wouldn’t have been a problem if this were a mainstream blockbuster, but there’s almost no chance it will do well in limited release, especially since it is also playing on VOD.
This film only has seven reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all seven reviews are positive and the average score is 8.1 out of 10. It’s about a family that has suffered a tragedy when their newborn infant dies barely two days after being born. The family’s two older children begin to act out as a result. If it can find an audience during its opening weekend, then the word-of-mouth should help it stick around. However, it could slip below the radar of too many people and fail to make an impact in theaters.
A documentary about Maria Callas, an American / Greek opera singer. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 96% positive, but its average review score is just 6.8 out of 10. That’s not enough to thrive in limited release, even with the winning streak documentaries are on right now.
A film set in Cape Town, it focuses on a criminal who is wheelchair bound after a drug deal goes bad. Worse still, he only has a week to pay the money he owns to his loan shark. The reviews are 100% positive, but the average review score is just 7.1 out of 10. That’s probably not enough to do well in limited release.
Video on Demand
This film had a troubled production, to put it mildly. It was made in the 1970s, took half a decade to film, and it is only coming out now. It was originally directed by Orson Welles, but less than half of the film was fully edited in the end, it was mired in legal complications for decades, which delayed the completion. And now that it is finally out, its reviews are right on the border between good and good enough for limited release.
Video on Demand
A horror film that is also playing on VOD. Its reviews are great, but horror films rarely do well in limited release, while VOD is usually a death sentence for a limited release.
A biopic of Marie Colvin starring Rosamund Pike. The film’s early reviews were not great, but they are improving. An average review score of 7.1 out of 10 still isn’t enough for limited release, so the film’s planned wide expansion in two weeks is not a sure thing, but its odds are better than they were at the beginning of the week.
Sophie Thatcher plays Cee, a teenage girl who travels with her father to an alien moon to prospect for gems. The moon turns out to be more dangerous than they thought and they didn’t think it would be an easy time to begin with. The reviews are good, but not great, and Sci-fi films rarely do well in limited release. That said, it is worth keeping an eye on when it comes out on DVD.
A documentary about Ingmar Bergman released in time for the 100th anniversary of his birth. Like I’ve said a lot recently, it has been a good year for documentaries and films about the movie business tend to do well in limited release, so I’m cautiously optimistic here.
Video on Demand
Charlene deGuzman plays a woman who is a sex addict trying to turn her life around. The film’s reviews are more than 90% positive, which is theoretically enough to help it do well in limited release. However, it is also playing on VOD, so its box office chances are close to zero.
Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders - Reviews - Video on Demand
Welcome to Mercy - Reviews - Video on Demand
It’s a slow week for secondary VOD releases. Daughters of the Sexual Revolution is earning good reviews, but not many of them.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Boy Erased, Entanglement, Prospect, Ingmar Bergman: Vermächtnis eines Jahrhundertgenies, Maria by Callas, A Private War, Bodied, Distant Constellation, The Other Side of the Wind, Unlovable, The Grief of Others, Daughters of the Sexual Revolution: The Untold Story of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Possum, Nommer 37, Welcome to Mercy, Orson Welles, Ingmar Bergman, Eminem, Rosamund Pike, Jess Weixler, Pedro Pascal, Thomas Middleditch, Sophie Thatcher, Charlene deGuzman