Limited and Virtual Releases: Will Limited Releases Deliver?

August 28, 2020

Fatima

It is a poor week generally for limited releases, with only a couple earning any real buzz: The Courier and Fatima. With actual wide releases this week, the competition is much greater than it’s been for months, which makes conditions challenging for these releases, to say the least. On the bright side, while things are still tough, this week sees a more typical mix of independent and genre films than we’ve seen recently. Here’s a rundown of the films that are doing their bit to help move the theatrical market back towards nomalcy.

Highlights

Centigrade
A horror film about a couple who get stranded in their car during a snowstorm. It’s the right genre for limited release, at least at this time in history, but its reviews are mixed. That said, IFC Films has had success at the box office, so maybe this one will be a hit, despite its reviews.

The Courier
A spy drama set during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The film has more star power than most on this list, and features Benedict Cumberbatch among others. However, while the reviews are overwhelmingly positive, they are not enthusiastically so. Additionally, it isn’t a genre that has done well during the pandemic. It will most likely be more of a hit on the home market.

The Eight-Hundred
This film earned more than $100 million during its week-long debut in its native China. It probably won’t earn even 1% of that here, but its international success means it is worth keeping an eye on.

Fatima
A faith-based film about the real life events that took place in 1917 in Fátima, Portugal. A 10-year old girl and her two cousins saw a manifestation of the Virgin Mary, who told them prayer was the only way to end World War I. The film’s reviews are good, but not great. Under normal circumstances, they wouldn’t be good enough to thrive in limited release and films like this have almost no chance at the box office right now. However, this is also the first faith-based film to be released in a while, and its target audience might be slightly more inclined to go to movie theaters. This is a chance to find out.

The Garden Left Behind (Theatrical and Virtual Release)
A movie about an undocumented trans woman living with her grandmother and working as a taxi driver to save money for her transition. This is an important movie that not only deals with violence against the trans community, but also features trans actors. It deserves to be seen, but most similar releases have really struggled during the pandemic. It hits VOD on the 8th of September and it should perform better on the home market.

Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin (Virtual Release)
The latest documentary from Werner Herzog, which should be enough to get many people excited. The film is about the documentarian’s real life friendship with late travel writer Bruce Chatwin. The reviews are excellent, not quite award-worthy, but certainly strong enough to be worth watching virtually. Check out the official site for more details.

Other Releases

Entwined (Virtual Release)
Epicentro (Virtual Release)
Hard Kill
The Hole (Virtual Re-Release)
House of Cardin
Still Here

Filed under: Limited Releases, Fatima, Ironbark, Nomad: In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin, House of Cardin, Epicentro, Centigrade, Hard Kill, Still Here, Ba bai, Entwined, The Garden Left Behind, Dong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Werner Herzog, Bruce Chatwin