Limited and Virtual Releases: Will Inception Wow Audiences Ten Years Later?
August 21, 2020
This week’s list of limited releases isn’t very long and most of the new ones are earning reviews that are merely good, or worse. The new releases that are earning overwhelmingly positive reviews are The August Virgin and Desert One. Words on Bathroom Walls is opening in a lot of theaters, probably too many, which leaves Inception’s tenth-anniversary re-release as the film with the best chance at box office success.
The August Virgin
Desert One (Theatrical and Virtual Release)
Inception: Tenth Anniversary Re-Release
The Pale Door
Stage Mother
Tesla
Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula
Words on Bathroom Walls
Those Who Deserve to Die (Virtual Release)
Highlights
Eva is about to turn 33 and her decision to stay in Madrid in August has become an act of faith. The days and nights arise as times for opportunities, and during the open-air summer celebrations Eva meets other people whom she tries to help, without realizing that she is actually helping herself. The film is earning the best reviews on this week’s list and it would be a prime candidate for art house success. Unfortunately, there’s really no art house circuit to go to, so I doubt it will have an impact at the box office.
This documentary has some of the best reviews of the week. However, it is a documentary and it has been a long time since any of those have been a box office hit. Furthermore, it is getting a virtual release to go with its theatrical one, which won’t help.
This film has been a surprisingly big international hit during its re-release and with Tenet finally coming out in a couple of weeks, it is a great time for a limited re-release. At least it would be if it weren’t for the pandemic. On the other hand, this would be a blast to watch at a drive-in. Perhaps there’s hope for the film.
The Dalton gang find shelter in a seemingly uninhabited ghost town after a train robbery goes south. Seeking help for their wounded leader, they are surprised to stumble upon a welcoming brothel in the town’s square. It’s a horror movie, so you know it won’t end well for them. Horror movies have done surprisingly well in limited release lately, but this film’s reviews are mixed and I think it won’t be the latest success.
When conservative, Texas church-choir director Maybelline inherits her recently deceased son’s drag club, she surprises her closed-minded husband and everyone else she knows by moving alone to San Francisco to save the club from bankruptcy. This film has more star power than most limited releases get, but its reviews are mixed and that’s usually enough to kill a limited release’s box office chances. Furthermore, it’s the wrong genre for the COVID-19 era.
Ethan Hawke stars as the brilliant visionary Nikola Tesla, who fights an uphill battle to bring his revolutionary electrical system to fruition, then faces thornier challenges with his new system for worldwide wireless energy. This film has more star power and buzz than most films on this week’s list; however, it is already out on VOD, so its box office chances are limited.
A zombie movie from South Korea. This film has been one of the biggest recent international hits and horror films have done well in limited release, so that should help its box office chances. Unfortunately, its reviews are merely mixed and it is a foreign-language import, so that will hurt its box office chances considerably.
This film is opening in nearly 1,000 theaters. This is enough to be considered a wide release, depending on your definition of wide. Additionally, it has more buzz and better than average reviews. On the downside, films like this have really struggled during the pandemic and I see no reason to expect this one to be different. It should do better on the home market.
Other Releases
You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Filed under: Limited Releases, Inception, Words on Bathroom Walls, Tesla, The Pale Door, La virgen de agosto, Desert One, Stage Mother, Ban-do, Those Who Deserve to Die, You Cannot Kill David Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Jacki Weaver, Itsaso Arana