Limited and VOD Releases: Few Fantastic Limited Releases
July 8, 2016
Captain Fantastic is the only film on this week’s list that I think will do well in theaters. There are some films that are earning better reviews, like Our Little Sister, but no film on this week’s list has the same buzz as this film does.
Captain Fantastic - Reviews
Cell - Reviews - Video on Demand
Cold War 2 - Reviews
Fathers and Daughters - Reviews
Men go to Battle - Reviews
Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You - Reviews
Our Little Sister - Reviews
Sultan - Reviews
Under the Sun - Reviews
Zero Days - Reviews
Viggo Mortensen plays the father of six kids he’s raised in the woods. However, when his wife dies, he and his kids have to venture out into civilization. This is the only film on this week’s list that is both earning good reviews and loud buzz. The critics are praising the acting in this movie, including the kids. This is more impressive, as outside of Annalise Basso, I don’t recognize any of these names. (She was in Oculus.) Captain Fantastic opens tonight in four theaters, split evenly between New York City and Los Angeles, with planned expansion next week. Check out the official site for more details.
Samuel L. Jackson and John Cusack reunite in this Stephen King adaptation. They previously starred in 1408, which is a great movie. This movie is not. It has zero positive reviews and it is not even worth renting on VOD.
A Chinese film that is the sequel to Cold War. That film was a hit in its native market, but was mostly ignored here. I suspect the same will happen this time around.
Video on Demand
This film has a great cast, but a bad script, and this combination usually results in a bad movie.
Video On Demand
This movie is about two brothers working their farm during The Civil War. The reviews are mixed and there’s not a lot of star power here, so it will likely do better on VOD than in theaters.
A documentary about Norman Lear, who essentially created the golden age of sitcoms in the 1970s. This is one of the better new releases for the week and it could do well in theaters, for a documentary.
Three sisters live in their family home when they learn they have a younger half-sister. She comes to live with them and they bond. The film is earning the best reviews on this week’s list and it was a hit in its native Japan. Perhaps it will find an audience in limited release here, but as a foreign-language film, its chances of expanding significantly are very limited.
An Indian film about the life of a championship wrestler, who falls in love with a woman who is tryng to become the female wrestling champion. The reviews are good, which is a positive sign. Hell, it’s an Indian film with reviews. That alone is a positive sign. Sultan opens tonight in over 200 theaters, the widest of any of the limited releases on this week’s list.
A documentary about North Korea and filmed in North Korea. It was made with the co-operation of the North Korean government, but in a way in which the filmmaker was able to get the truth out without the government realizing what happened. The reviews are excellent and this is likely the best look inside North Korea that outsiders will get until the regime collapses. That said, it doesn’t have mainstream appeal, so it won’t expand wide.
Video on Demand
A documentary about Stuxnet, the computer virus that the Americans and Israelis used to cripple the Iranian nuclear weapons program. However, while it was targeted at their centrifuges, it got out and damaged a lot of unintended targets. One of the best films on this week’s list, the documentary has many aspects of the best thrillers and that could help it find an audience. However, it is playing on VOD, so it likely won’t find that audience in theaters.
Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Cell, Captain Fantastic, Men go to Battle, Umimachi Diary, Fathers and Daughters, Zero Days, V paprscích slunce, Norman Lear: Just Another Version of You, Sultan, Cold War 2, Samuel L. Jackson, John Cusack, Stephen King, Viggo Mortensen, Norman Lear, Annalise Basso