July 14th, 2017
There’s not a wide selection of films coming out in limited release this week, but there are number of them that are worth checking out. This includes To The Bone, which is playing on Netflix right now. Endless Poetry is about the early life of Alejandro Jodorowsky and fans of his movies should be very interested. Lady Macbeth is a costume drama and that’s a genre that tends to do well in limited release. Finally there’s Swallows and Amazons, a family film that will likely do much better on Video on Demand than in theaters.
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December 13th, 2014
The third installment of our annual Holiday Gift Guide involves limited releases, including foreign films and documentaries; classics hitting DVD or Blu-ray for the first time; and of course Canadian films. There were better choices for the limited releases than there were for big releases and TV on DVD releases, which is good news, because this Holiday Gift Guide feels that it ahs been lackluster so far. There have been many great limited releases to come out this year, including several foreign-language films to find some measure of mainstream success. On the downside, every year a lot of these movies hit theaters in the fall, so they won't hit the home market for months. That said, there are still some real highlights among the limited releases, classics, and Canadian films. In fact, we start off with the highest of the highlights for the entire year.
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July 6th, 2014
It is a terrible week on the home market. I could just leave that as my opening sentence on this column all summer long and the vast majority of the time it would fit perfectly. This week, the biggest new release is Raid 2, a foreign-language action film. The second biggest release is Jodorowsky's Dune, a documentary about a movie that was never made. Neither release will sell a ton of units. However, both earned great reviews and both are contenders for Pick of the Week. The third and final contender is Le Week-End, which is earning reviews that are just as good, but the film appears to be selling far fewer units on the home market. While all three releases are worth picking up, Jodorowsky's Dune on Blu-ray Combo Pack is the best this week and it is the winner of the Pick of the Week.
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May 25th, 2014
Another weekend, another $90 million opener. This time, there’s an asterisk at least, because X-Men: Days of Future Past will “open” with $110 million, thanks to the four day Memorial Day long weekend, giving Fox an arguable claim to the biggest weekend of the year, and the first $100 million debut. The reality, however, is that it will line up in fourth place when comparing 3-day weekends, with Captain America still out in front, thanks to its $95 million opening back in April. May has seen the three other $90 million-plus weekends, with Godzilla second ($93 million) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 third ($91.6 million).
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May 23rd, 2014
It is not a particularly strong week for limited releases. There are a few that are earning good reviews, but almost none are earning good reviews and any buzz. Cold in July is one of the exceptions and its reviews and star power could have resulted in a fast start, but it is also playing on Video on Demand.
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March 21st, 2014
There are quite a few limited releases this week, including Nymphomaniac: Volume 1, which is earning the loudest buzz. Its reviews are great, but not as strong as the buzz, plus it has been playing on Video on Demand. The best reviews go to Cheap Thrills (Reviews) and Jodorowsky's Dune (Reviews). Hopefully both films will find an audience this weekend, but limited release is a rough go even with the best reviews.
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