Limited and VOD Releases: Searching for a Perfect Limited Release
August 24, 2018
It’s a great week for limited releases, if you like documentaries, as there are four of them on this week’s list and all of them are earning good reviews. There are also a few films that earned loud pre-release buzz, at least compared to most other limited releases. However, most of these earning reviews that were mixed to good, but not great. The exception is Searching, which should be the biggest hit on this week’s list.
Andrei Rublev - Reviews
Arizona - Reviews
The Bookshop - Reviews
Crime + Punishment - Reviews
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection - Reviews
Makala - Reviews
The Oslo Diaries - Reviews
Papillon - Reviews
Searching - Reviews
Support The Girls - Reviews
What Keeps You Alive - Reviews
Secondary VOD Releases:
-1-News.jpg)
A 1960s Russian film about Andrei Rublev, a 15th century painter. The film was originally censored in its native Russia, but was widely considered a classic when it was released in the West in the 1970s. It is getting a re-release this week and it is absolutely worth checking out.
Video on Demand
A horror / comedy that is earning mixed reviews and is playing on Video on Demand. That’s three strikes for its box office chances.
Emily Mortimer stars as a widow in 1950s England who decides to open a bookshop in a conservative small town. This is one of three films on this week’s list that was earning pre-release buzz. Its reviews are good, but merely good, but not great. The star power could be enough to thrive for a week or two, but I don’t think the word-of-mouth will be enough to help it expand significantly.
The best-reviewed documentary on this week’s list. This is an asset; however, there are just so many documentaries on this week’s list that it will have a really hard time finding an audience. That’s too bad, because it is about police abuse with regards to race and that’s a topic that needs to be discussed more.
One of several documentaries on this week’s list. This one is earning excellent reviews, but there was a recent narrative movie that wasn’t able to escape limited release, so I doubt this one will have better luck.
A documentary about a farmer in Congo trying to make a better life for his family. This is one of a few documentaries on this week’s list. It’s reviews are excellent, but there’s a lot of competition for this genre.
A documentary about the Oslo Accords, which is arguably the closest we’ve been to having peace in the Middle East in a long, long time. The reviews are good, but I’m not sure they are good enough to thrive in limited release. That said, there have been several documentaries that have done really well at the box office this year, so there is hope.
This is one of a handful of releases on this week’s list that is earning significant buzz. Unfortunately, its reviews are below the overall positive level and that will likely prove fatal for its box office chances.
John Cho plays a father whose daughter goes missing. When there are no leads, he checks out her laptop and realizes he doesn’t really know what’s going on in her life. The reviews are excellent, but this film was supposed to open wide and now it is debuting in only 9 theaters with a planned expansion next week. That’s a risky play and we will have to wait a week to see how it turns out.
Regina Hall plays the manager of a sports bar who is protective of her waitresses, but overall is a very optimistic person. However, she has a very challenging day. The reviews are excellent and there’s better star power in this movie than most limited releases get. On the other hand, it doesn’t scream art house, so it might struggle in limited release. I hope that’s not the case and if it is, I hope this workplace comedy finds an audience on the home market.
Video on Demand
A Canadian thriller about two women who travel to a remote cabin to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. However, one of them isn’t what they say they are. This film is the wrong genre for limited release, as thrillers rarely do well in the art house circuit, while its reviews are only good and not great. That said, it is worth a $7 rental on VOD.
Blue Iguana - Reviews - Video on Demand
I am Vengeance - Reviews - Video on Demand
There are only two secondary VOD titles this week and neither of them is what you would call a hidden gem.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Arizona, Papillon, Andrey Rublyov, The Bookshop, Makala, What Keeps You Alive, Searching, L’empire de la perfection, Support The Girls, Blue Iguana, Crime + Punishment, I am Vengeance, The Oslo Diaries, John Cho, Regina Hall, Emily Mortimer