Welcome back to Box Office Breakdown, the weekly segment where I analyze the top ten highest grossing films of the past weekend.
Unfortunately, since most theatres are still closed down due to the COVID-19 and will continue to be for a while, we are unable to analyze the box office as studios are not reporting weekend projections. Due to this situation, studios are prematurely pulling films from theatres and releasing them on VOD, allowing audiences to watch them within the comfort of their own home. While theatres are temporarily shut down for an indefinite amount of time, we are dedicating this segment to analyzing how each film fares on VOD.
As theatres are preparing to open in the coming weeks and summer quickly approaches, studios are beginning to release high profile films more frequently. However, this weekend was relatively slow in comparison with the previous week in terms of high profile studio releases. Instead this weekend’s new VOD and streaming fare was dominated by independent films.
Easily the most high profile new release was the latest psychological thriller/horror film from Blumhouse Pictures, titled You Should Have Left. The film stars a promising cast including Kevin Bacon and Amanda Seyfried, and is very inspired by classic horror films such as The Shining. Unfortunately the film received mostly mixed to negative reviews from critics and even harsher reactions from audiences. However, due to its cast and association with Blumhouse Pictures, the film has been doing well financially and is currently placed at #10 on the iTunes Charts.
The other two new VOD releases haven’t done as well financially, but both received various accolades at festivals and have done exceptionally well with critics. The first of which is Miss Juneteenth, which was released on the 155th anniversary of the titular holiday and stars Nicole Beharie and Kendrick Sampson as a mother and daughter who prepare to enter a “Miss Juneteenth”beauty pageant in Texas. The other new VOD release was Babyteeth, which stars Eliza Scanlen as a terminally ill teen who upsets her parents when she falls for a local drug dealer. The film received exceptionally strong reviews, with many praising its raw emotional impact.
In terms of streaming titles, Amazon Prime released a hijacking thriller titled 7500, which marks the directorial debut of German filmmaker Patrick Vollrath and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his first major role since 2016’s Snowden. The film received mostly decent reviews and his currently holding a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes
Aside from new releases, we wanted to report which films have been generating the most sales on the iTunes Charts. Apple doesn’t release statistics or a weekly chart, so these are the top 10 films on iTunes based on the moment this article was being written:
10. You Should Have Left
8. The Rest of Us
6. Trolls: 2-Movie Collection
2. Little Women
In the coming weeks, we will continue to analyze the state of VOD releases and will provide updates regarding upcoming films.
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