Limited and VOD Releases: Taking a Highway to Hell

April 12, 2019

Penguin Highway

Her Smell is arguably the biggest hit on this week’s list of new films in limited release. Meanwhile, Penguin Highway has 100% positive reviews and Wild Nights With Emily isn’t that far behind. Hopefully all three, and maybe some others on this week’s list, can find an audience.

Dogman - Reviews
 An Italian film about a man trying to live a quiet life who is pushed to the breaking point by a local criminal trying to force him into a life of crime. The reviews are right on the border between merely good and good enough for limited release. However, even if it does find an audience on the art house circuit, I doubt it will expand beyond that.

Girls of the Sun - Reviews
 This is a timely and important story that is told poorly. Disappointing.

Her Smell - Reviews
 Elisabeth Moss stars as an aging punk rocker whose still trying to make a career of it, despite her self-destructive ways. This isn’t the only film earning excellent reviews on this week’s list, but it does have arguably the best combination of reviews and buzz and could do well on the theater average chart.

Long Day’s Journey Into Night - Reviews
 A Chinese film that many critics are saying as a Film Noir feel to it. I’m intrigued. It also has a strange setup that will limit its appeal to the art house circuit.

Mary Magdalene - Reviews
 A biographical story of Mary Magdalene with an impressive cast and reviews that would be weak for a wide release. Furthermore, it is opening in just over 60 theaters, which I think will prove to be too many.

Master Z: Ip Man Legacy - Reviews
 The latest installment in the Ip Man franchise. The reviews are great for an action film, but these films rarely do well in limited release. It should be a hit when it reaches the home market.

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote - Reviews
 This film has been in the works in various forms for more than 20 years. Even when it was done, it was delayed due to financial problems with the production company. It is finally coming out this weekend... and it’s fine. The reviews are barely above the overall positive level, so it will be worth checking out for fans of the director, but it won’t thrive during its special engagements. It’s a really anticlimactic result.

Penguin Highway - Reviews
 An Anime film about a young Japanese boy who has to discover why a group of penguins arrived in his small Japanese town. The film is earning 100% reviews, but Anime is still a very niche market here, but a growing market.

Red Joan - Reviews
 I was really looking forward to this film. It stars Judi Dench as a woman in her autumn years who is accused of being a Russian spy decades earlier. Unfortunately, its reviews would be fatal even if it were a wide release and so it will likely go nowhere in limited release.

Satan & Adam - Reviews
 A documentary about an unlikely musical duo from the 1980s that had breakout success, until one of its members just disappeared. The film has nearly perfect reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, so it could continue the streak of documentary hits we’ve seen over the past couple of years. Or it could struggle and be a sign that this streak is beginning to fade.

The Silence - Reviews
 Video on Demand
A weak and derivative thriller that opened in theaters on Wednesday and starts on Netflix today. There are better options out there.

Stockholm - Reviews
 Based on the real life events that helped give rise to “Stockholm Syndrome” as a psychological concept. Its reviews are good, but not good enough for limited release.

Teen Spirit - Reviews
 One of only a handful of films on this week’s list with any pre-release buzz. However, its reviews are barely above the overall positive level, so it will likely have to wait until the home market to find an audience.

Wild - Reviews
 A movie that follows a male prostitute and he navigates the sex world while looking for real companionship. The reviews are excellent, but this is not the kind of film that usually escapes the art house circuit.

Wild Nights With Emily - Reviews
 Molly Shannon stars in this biopic of Emily Dickenson. The reviews are great and it has better buzz than most films on this week’s list, so it could be a moderate hit in limited release.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Boo! - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Crypto - Reviews - Video on Demand
A Dark Place - Reviews - Video on Demand
Warfighter - Reviews - Video On Demand
We Are Columbine - Reviews - Video On Demand
We Are Columbine is the only secondary VOD release that could be a hidden gem.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, El Hombre que mato a Don Quijote, Steel Country, Stockholm, Mary Magdalene, The Silence, Wild Nights With Emily, Teen Spirit, Her Smell, Dogman, Les Filles du Soleil, Di Qiu Zui Hou De Ye Wang, Penguin Highway, Sauvage, Red Joan, Ye Wen hui chuan: Zhang Tianzhi, Crypto, Satan & Adam, BOO!, We Are Columbine, Warfighter, Ip Man, Judi Dench, Elisabeth Moss, Molly Shannon