New Theatrical Releases Show There’s a Glimmer of Light at the End of the Tunnel
May 15, 2020
Both Canada and the United States are massive, so it is arguably not accurate to say either country have had a COVID-19 outbreak, but rather many outbreaks. And the good news is that some areas have begun to recover. For example, I live within an hour’s drive of Vancouver, which has a population of nearly 2.5 million in its metropolitan area. It currently has less than two dozen people hospitalized, our entire province is down to just a dozen people in ICU, and we’re on a downwards trend. On the other hand, there are other places in North America that are seeing their worst numbers this week. Even putting aside political issues, the vast difference between the highs and the lows means we’ll see wide variations in when and how economies open up. Movie theaters will be likely be one of the last sectors to fully recover, partly because it is really hard to do social distancing when theater seats are so close together and forcing theaters to reduce capacity to maintain a safe gap between moviegoers will result in not enough tickets being sold to justify opening in a lot of places. That said, we should begin to see a trickle of new theatrical, as well as some virtual releases. This week, we have one of each and I think The Vast of Night has a good shot at finding a receptive audience.
The Vast of Night - Reviews
New French Shorts 2020 - No Reviews
Video on Demand
A Sci-fi thriller set in the 1950s. Sierra McCormick and Jake Horowitz star as a telephone switchboard operator and a radio DJ respectively who intercept a strange signal. The film’s Tomatometer Score is 90% positive and the average score is nearly 8 out of 10, meaning not only are the reviews overwhelmingly positive, they are enthusiastically positive. Also, it is the genre that does well in drive-in theaters. On the downside, it hits VOD in just two weeks, which could harm its appeal.
Official Site
A collection of short films from France is getting a virtual release this week. This means you can watch it from home, while supporting a local theater. I really like this idea and I’m hoping it works out for both the theater owners and the filmmakers alike. On the other hand, this film is way too “art house” to find a mainstream audience, so I’m not expecting much in terms of box office numbers.
Filed under: Limited Releases, Weekend Preview, The Vast of Night, Sierra McCormick, Jake Horowitz