Limited and VOD Releases: Will any of the Limited Releases Get Lucky at the Box Office?

September 29, 2017

This week’s selection of limited releases is mixed. There are a couple of potential Oscar contenders, Lucky and Our Souls at Night, but neither is expected to be a major player at the box office. In fact, Our Souls at Night is playing on Video on Demand, so its box office potential is close to zero. Likewise, Window Horses, Bugs, and I am Another You are all earning 100% positive reviews, but none are expected to find breakout success on the art house scene.

Bugs - Reviews
A documentary about the movement to add insects to out everyday menus. There are only six reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but all six are positive, so perhaps it can do well at the box office, for a documentary. On a side note, I would totally eat insects, but I can’t find any locally and ordering them online is way too expensive. So where I live, bugs are too expensive to eat. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.

I am Another You - Reviews
Chinese documentarian, Nanfu Wang, travel to Florida and explores the life of a man who is intentionally homeless. The reviews are 100% positive, but documentaries rarely have breakout success.

Literally, Right Before Aaron - Reviews
Video on Demand
A Romantic comedy about a man going to his ex-girlfriend’s wedding to prove he’s over her, only to realize he’s still in love. The reviews are weak, romantic comedies rarely do well in limited release, and it is playing on VOD. That all adds up to a box office bomb.

Lucky - Reviews
This is one of the last films Harry Dean Stanton made before his death earlier this month. The reviews suggest he went out on a high note and there is even Oscar buzz surrounding his performance. I would be ecstatic if he did get his first Oscar nomination for this film, although I am a little annoyed it didn’t happen before he died.

Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House - Reviews
A biopic about Mark Felt the FBI whistleblower who brought down the Nixon White House. The cast is great and this is a really meaty story, but unfortunately, the reviews are weak and it looks like it will be busted Oscar-bait.

Our Souls at Night - Reviews
Video on Demand
Out of all of the films on this week’s list, this is the one with the best buzz. It stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, both of whom are earning Oscar buzz. On the other hand, it is playing on Netflix, so its box office chances are limited.

Realive - Reviews
A Sci-fi film about the first man revived from cryonics. The film’s Tomatometer is good, but the average score is mediocre, plus it is coming out on the home market on Tuesday, so it doesn’t have a lot of time to find an audience in theaters.

A Question of Faith - Reviews
A faith-based film aimed at an African-American audience. There are not enough films to judge its quality, but it is the widest limited release of the week and it could make its way into the top ten.

Signature Move - Reviews
A Muslim lesbian living in Chicago balances her life with taking care of her widowed mother. She begins a romance with a Mexican woman and takes up Luchador wrestling to win her over. There are only six reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, which would normally not be enough to talk about here, but all six are positive. Also, it is hard to ignore a movie with this premise.

Super Dark Times Reviews
Video On Demand
A pair of high school friends are inseparable, until an accident and a cover-up drives them apart. The reviews are great, but the film is playing on VOD, so its box office chances are terrible.

Window Horses - Reviews
A Canadian animated film about a immigrant poet who is of Chinese and Iranian ethnicity who travels to Iran for a poetry show and connects with her heritage. The reviews are 100% positive, but animated film almost never do well in limited release.

Secondary VOD Releases:
Don’t Sleep - Reviews - Video on Demand
There is only one secondary VOD release and it’s really bad with no positive reviews out of the eight reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.

C.S.Strowbridge

Filed under: Limited Releases, VOD Releases, Home Market Releases, Our Souls at Night, Mark Felt: The Man Who Brought Down the White House, Proyecto Lazaro, Super Dark Times, Window Horses, I am Another You, Lucky, A Question of Faith, Don’t Sleep, Literally, Right Before Aaron, Bugs, Signature Move, Jane Fonda, Robert Redford, Harry Dean Stanton, Nanfu Wang