Limited and VOD Releases: See a Limited Releases During Your Coffee Break

July 15, 2016

Café Society

It’s not a grand week for limited releases. Café Society is the only big release of the week and while its reviews and its pedigree suggest it should be a hit, it might be the only hit of the week.

At the Fork - Reviews
A documentary about the food industry and its treatment of animals. There are not a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but so far all of them are positive, so it is worth a mention.

Bastille Day - Reviews
Idris Elba is the best part of this action film. Sadly, many critics think he’s not enough to save a rather cliché script and average action scenes. Even so, it is worth checking out, but wait till the home market.

The Blackcoat’s Daughter - Reviews
A horror film focusing on Kiernan Shipka and Lucy Boynton, who are left behind at their all-girls boarding school over the winter break. The reviews are in the overall positive level, but not overwhelmingly positive, which will hurt its chances in limited release. Also, horror films rarely find breakout success in limited release, so this film will likely have to wait till it gets to the home market before it finds an audience. It does deserve to find an audience then.

Café Society - Reviews
The latest film from Woody Allen. It stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart, amongst others and its earning really good reviews. Perhaps good enough that it will expand truly wide. There is a planned nationwide expansion on the 29th. How wide that expansion is will depend on how well it does this weekend.

Don’t Blink: Robert Frank - Reviews
 A documentary about Robert Frank, a photographer and documentarian. The reviews are good, but not great, while documentaries rarely have breakout success in theaters.

Equals - Reviews
Video on Demand
The second Kristen Stewart release on this week’s list. This one won’t do as well as Café Society will perform, because its reviews are weak and it is playing on VOD. Then again, it only costs $10 on Amazon, so that’s not a bad deal if you like the cast. It’s barely more than most VOD rentals are.

Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party - Reviews
Dinesh D’Souza previously made 2016: Obama’s America, which earned a massive amount at the box office, but was widely debunked by political experts and reality itself. (Some of the predictions he made in that movie were comically wrong.) This film will appeal to those who think Hillary Clinton personally killed Vince Foster, but it won’t have mainstream appeal outside that group.

Lucha Mexico - Reviews
Video On Demand
A documentary on Luchadores, or Mexican wrestlers. The reviews are good, but not great, while I’m unsure how well the subject matter will do in limited release. On the other hand, there are a lot of Mexican-Americans, so this film could do rather well on VOD.

Outlaws and Angels - Reviews
Video on Demand
A western that is earning terrible reviews and that is playing on VOD. I wouldn’t be shocked if they don’t even bother releasing box office numbers.

Phantom Boy - Reviews
An animated film by the same people who made A Cat in Paris. The two films are earning similar reviews, but A Cat in Paris had an Oscar nomination to boost ticket sales.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Dirty - No Reviews - Video on Demand
Free to Run - Reviews - Video on Demand
Undrafted - Reviews - Video on Demand
Free to Run is the only secondary release that looks interesting, but its reviews suggest it is only worth a rental.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Lucha Mexico, The Blackcoat’s Daughter, Phantom Boy, Equals, Bastille Day, Café Society, Outlaws and Angels, Hillary’s America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party, Undrafted, Don’t Blink: Robert Frank, At the Fork, Dirty, Free to Run, Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Idris Elba, Kristen Stewart, Kiernan Shipka, Dinesh D'Souza, Lucy Boynton