Limited and VOD Releases: Will Ms. Purple Reign at the Box Office?
September 6, 2019
It is still too early for Awards Season contenders to come out, but that doesn’t mean there are no highly-regarded films on this week’s list. Ága, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, and Ms. Purple all have a shot at doing well at the box office.
Ága - Reviews
Chhichhore - No Reviews
Edie - Reviews
The Fanatic - Reviews
Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice - Reviews
Mr. Klein - Reviews
Ms. Purple - Reviews
Satanic Panic - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
One of the best-reviewed films on this week’s list. It is about a husband and wife living in the far north. When the wife gets sick, the husband agrees to make the long trek to their daughter, so the family can be reunited one last time.
This is the widest limited release of the week, as it is playing in nearly 200 theaters. Unfortunately, it has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Fortunately, it is a Bollywood film, so having no reviews isn’t going to be an issue. It just makes it harder for me to predict its box office chances.
Sheila Hancock stars as the titular Edie, a widow in her 80s, who decides to go on a hiking vacation in the Scottish Highlands. She was supposed to do that with her father decades ago, but her husband refused to let her go and it is her biggest life regret. The film’s reviews are good with much of the praise going to the lead performance; however, a lot of the critics are saying it should have been amazing and it doesn’t live up to its potential. It’s the kind of movie that is worth watching, but one that you can wait for a VOD rental.
It’s a John Travolta movie. When was the last time he made a good movie? Hell, he has five films with zero positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes in just the past few years.
A documentary about Linda Ronstadt and her more than 50-year career. The film’s reviews are good enough that it could do well in limited release, at least for a documentary. It is playing in 65 theaters, which is a lot for a documentary, potentially too many.
This is a re-release of a French film from the 1970s. It is about a Catholic art dealer living during World War II who takes advantage of his Jewish neighbors by buying and selling their art. However, he is then mistaken for a missing Jewish man.
Two Korean-American siblings reunite when their father becomes terminally ill. The film has some of the best reviews on this week’s list and Asian-Americans are an underserved demographic, so this could do well in limited release. It very likely won’t do nearly as well as The Farewell, but I also wouldn’t be shocked if it opened in the $10,000 club.
Video on Demand
This is your typical secondary VOD release, but it has nearly 30 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. That shows there’s a lot of buzz, but the reviews are merely good and not great, it is a horror film, and it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are negligible.
Adventures of a Boy Genius - Reviews - Video on Demand
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Gags the Clown - Reviews - Video on Demand
Hex - Review - Video on Demand
My Best Friend’s Famous - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Night Hunter - Reviews - Video on Demand
Hex has no reviews on Rotten Tomatoes; in fact, it doesn’t have a page. (Not unless it is under a different name, but I couldn’t find the director or the writer on RT either, so that’s saying something.) That said, I did read a few reviews online and they were positive, so it is worth a VOD rental for fans of horror.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Night Hunter, Edie, Satanic Panic, The Farewell, Ága, The Fanatic, Ms. Purple, Boy Genius, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice, Dauntless: The Battle of Midway, Chhichhore, Mr. Klein, Gags the Clown, Hex, My Best Friend’s Famous, John Travolta, Sheila Hancock, Linda Ronstadt