Limited and VOD Releases: Growing Old waiting for Prime Limited Releases

January 11, 2019

They Shall Not Grow Old

It is going to be a while before it is a good time for limited releases. We at least need this year’s Oscar contenders to no longer dominate theaters before high-quality limited releases can thrive. The biggest “new” release of the week is They Shall Not Grow Old, which broke records at the end of last year during special engagements. Now it looks to thrive in regular limited release. I think it will. There are a few others that could do well in VOD, but that’s as good as it gets for most films on this week’s list.

Ashes in the Snow - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Bel Powley stars as a 16-year old aspiring artist whose family is deported to Siberia during Stalin’s regime. There are only five reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and they are merely good, but it is a slow week, so it might be worth the $7 VOD rental.

The Aspern Papers - Reviews
 Video on Demand
This film has more star power than most limited releases could dream of, but it also has some of the worst reviews of the week, and that includes wide releases. Skip it.

Buffalo Boys - Reviews
 Video on Demand
Two siblings who were raised in the American wild west return with their uncle to their home, Java, to get revenge for the murder of their father. This film’s reviews are good, but not great, plus it is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are even weaker. That said, if you are interested in Westerns from other nations, it is at least worth a $6 VOD rental.

Perfect Strangers - Reviews
 A group of friends at a dinner party decide to play a game. Each of them will leave their cell phones on the table and reveal every call and every text that they get to the group. This film does not have a lot of reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all but one of them is positive, so that’s a good sign. Additionally, it is aimed at an Hispanic audience, so it could do well in limited release. I’m not sure it will do well enough to expand from its initial theater count of 132, but I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if it did.

Pledge - Reviews
 Video on Demand
A horror movie about sadistic fraternity hazing. This is the wrong genre for limited release, as horror movies almost never do well at the box office unless they open truly wide. On the other hand, its reviews are more than good enough to be worth a $6 VOD rental.

They Shall Not Grow Old - Reviews
 This is the only film on this week’s list that has a realistic shot at finding an audience in theaters. In fact, it already broke box office records during its special engagements. The documentary is a look at World War I through the use of groundbreaking restoration technology and more than 600 hours of Imperial War Museum war footage and BBC audio of men who served in the war. It will not only be the biggest hit on this week’s list, but the technology at its core will be used to make other award-worthy documentaries.

Touch Me Not - Reviews
 A mix between drama and documentary. It is something of an experimental film that didn’t quite work out. It is worth checking out for art house aficionados, but even then, you can wait till the home market to watch it.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Against the Clock - Reviews - Video on Demand
Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom - No Reviews - Video on Demand
SGT. Will Gardner - Reviews - Video On Demand
I’m not 100% sure Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom is coming out this week. The trailer was released last month, but there hasn’t been an update on the official Facebook page since then and there’s no page on Amazon, Vudu, etc. The VOD link above is to the iTunes trailer.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, The Aspern Papers, Perfectos Desconocidos, They Shall Not Grow Old, Touch Me Not, Ashes in the Snow, Buffalo Boys, SGT. Will Gardner, Norm of the North: Keys to the Kingdom, Pledge, Against the Clock, Bel Powley