Limited and VOD Releases: Will Monos Thrive, or will Fate Hand it a Loss?

September 13, 2019

Monos

There are many interesting limited releases on this week’s list I want to check out, including Chained for Life, Freaks, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, One Cut of the Dead, Riot Girls, and Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken. However, I think Monos has the best shot at box office success.

Another Day of Life - Reviews
 A half-animated drama about the civil war in Angola that also uses archival footage and interviews to tell the story of a journalist looking to write a story about the war. Its reviews are close to 90% positive, but there are a lot of films of that quality coming out this week, so it risks getting lost in the noise.

Chained for Life - Reviews
 A black comedy about a low-budget horror movie where the monster is played by an actor with a real-life facial deformity. The actor is played by Adam Pearson, who has a facial deformity in real life and is an anti-bullying advocate as well as an actor. The reviews are 100% positive and I really hope it finds a receptive audience in limited release, but there’s a lot of competition on this week’s list.

Depraved - Reviews
 Video on Demand
This is a horror film that is earning very strong reviews, but it is also playing on VOD. This isn’t the only such film on this week’s list. None of them will do well in theaters. I do like the Frankenstein connection and it is worth checking out, but a VOD rental will be better choice for most people.

Empathy, Inc. - Reviews
 A failed entrepreneur invests in a new Extreme Virtual Reality start up, only to learn it isn’t that virtual and his new business partners have less than ideal goals. The reviews are good, but I don’t think this one will make it in limited release.

Freaks - Reviews
 This film had a lot of buzz when the trailer first came out a while ago. However, that buzz doesn’t seem to have grown in the meantime. That said, its reviews should help it survive in limited release, while it does have much better star power than most limited releases have.

Haunt - Reviews
 A horror movie set in a haunted house. The reviews are good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release under the best of circumstances. Horror films just make the matter much, much worse.

Liam Gallagher: As It Was - Reviews
 This documentary is only for fans of the artist, as it feels more like a promotional piece than an engaging look at the person.

Monos - Reviews
 Julianne Nicholson stars as a doctor kidnapped by a group of young soldiers and rebels. This is one of the biggest and best releases on this week’s list and it arguably has the best shot at earning some measure of mainstream success. On the other hand, there’s a lot more competition this week than most, so that could hurt it at the box office.

Neither Wolf Nor Dog - Reviews
 A story of a Native American elder who wants his story told, so he asks a white author to write a book for him. After that doesn’t work, the elder and his sidekick essentially kidnap the author and force him on a road trip. The reviews are excellent, but this might be too small of a limited release to find an audience in theaters. It is more intriguing to me than most of the rest of the films on this week’s list. Although the next film tops that list.

One Cut of the Dead - Reviews
 A zombie horror comedy from Japan that is earning 100% positive reviews. Of course this is the film I want to see the most on this week’s list. It is unlikely to do the best in theaters, on the other hand. Horror films rarely do well in limited release.

Riot Girls - Reviews
 Video on Demand
A Canadian movie about a disease that wipes out all adults, and how people cope in the world that is left behind. It deals with a town and its class divide, and what happens with one of the have-nots is kidnapped by one of the haves. The reviews are excellent, but it is a Canadian film and these rarely find audiences in theaters. On the other hand, it is worth a $5 VOD rental at the very least.

Section 375 - Reviews
 Normally I don’t include films on this list unless they have 10 or more reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. However, five reviews is a lot for an Indian film and all five reviews are positive, so that’s even more impressive. We are still waiting for a major breakthrough for Indian films into the mainstream here, so I doubt this film will truly take off. I hope to be pleasantly surprised.

The Sound of Silence - Reviews
 Impressive cast, unimpressive reviews. To be fair, it is not a bad movie, but limited releases tend to need reviews that are more than just overall positive to thrive at the box office, so I suspect this one will struggle.

Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken - Reviews
 Video on Demand
This time Morgan Spurlock tackles the fast food industry, but does so by trying to start a chicken restaurant. The reviews are good, but not great and normally limited releases need great reviews to thrive. That said, Spurlock has more name recognition than almost any other documentarian out there, so the film could still do well, on VOD. It’s box office chances are much weaker.

The Weekend - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Sasheer Zamata stars as as a stand-up comic who invites her ex-boyfriend and his new girlfriend. A love triangle forms, one that gets a lot more complicated when a handsome bachelor arrives. This film’s reviews are amazing, but it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are nearly zero.

Secondary VOD Releases:
3 Days With Dad - Reviews - Video on Demand
Can You Keep a Secret? - Reviews - Video on Demand
How to Say Goodbye - Reviews - Video on Demand
The Parting Glass - Reviews - Video On Demand
The Parting Glass has 100% positive reviews, just not a lot of them.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, The Parting Glass, Can You Keep a Secret?, Kamera o tomeru na!, Chained for Life, Freaks, Another Day of Life, Haunt, The Sound of Silence, Monos, The Weekend, Liam Gallagher: As It Was, Depraved, Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken, Empathy, Inc., How to Say Goodbye, Riot Girls, Section 375, 3 Days With Dad, Julianne Nicholson, Morgan Spurlock, Kym Whitley, Adam Pearson, Sasheer Zamata, Y'Lan Noel, Tone Bell