Limited and VOD Releases: A Little Hope for New Releases

April 19, 2019

Little Woods

Little Woods is the biggest, and one of the best, limited releases on this week’s list. It has a real shot at earning some measure of mainstream success. There are also several films on this week’s list that could do well on the art house circuit, but likely won’t expand significantly. These include Grass, Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse, and Rafiki.

Family - Reviews
 Taylor Schilling stars as a woman who has to babysit her niece, who then runs off to become a Juggalo. The film’s reviews are good, but there are several other films on this week’s list that are earning even better reviews and I have a gut feeling this one will not make the cut in limited release.

Fast Color - Reviews
 Gugu Mbatha-Raw plays a woman with supernatural powers who is forced to go on the run when her powers are discovered. The reviews are merely good, but not good enough to thrive in limited release.

Grass - Reviews
 A South Korean film about a woman in a cafe who is silently observing people and typing what she sees and hears. The reviews are fantastic, but this film has almost no shot at expanding beyond art house theaters.

Hagazussa: A Heathen’s Curse - Reviews
 This German film is earning 100% positive reviews and normally that would be enough to give it a chance on the art house circuit. However, it comes out on Blu-ray on Tuesday, so it won’t have a chance to find an audience in theaters.

Hail Satan? - Reviews
 A documentary about the Satanic Temple and its political activism, which is mostly about religious freedoms. The reviews are amazing and we are due for a breakout documentary hit. It could be this one.

Little Woods - Reviews
 This is arguably the biggest release of the week. In fact, it has a planned wide expansion set for next week. Its 98% positive reviews suggest it could actually get there. That said, next weekend is when Avengers: Endgame opens, so the best this film can hope for is success as counter-programing.

Rafiki - Reviews
 An LGBT romance set in Kenya. That will help set it apart, and its reviews should result in strong word-of-mouth. It won’t do well enough to expand beyond the art house circuit, but it could do well there.

Stuck - Reviews
 A musical about the lives of six people on the New York City subway. Even if this film had amazing reviews, it still wouldn’t be able to escape the art house scene, as it is too niche for wide appeal. Since it has mixed reviews, it likely won’t even find an audience there.

Under The Silver Lake - Reviews
 This film is earning some of the loudest pre-release buzz on this week’s list; however, its reviews are mixed so it will likely struggle at the box office.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Daddy Issues - Reviews - Reviews
 Drunk Parents - No Reviews - Video on Demand
High on the Hog - No Reviews - Video on Demand
The Samaritans - No Reviews - Video On Demand
There are four secondary VOD releases this week and only one of them, Daddy Issues, has any positive reviews. In fact, that film has three positive reviews while the other three films have no reviews at all.

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Drunk Parents, Under The Silver Lake, Fast Color, Little Woods, Stuck, Family, Daddy Issues, Rafiki, High on the Hog, Pulipdeul, Hagazussa, Hail Satan?, The Samaritans, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Taylor Schilling, Bryn Vale