Limited Release

Not coming to a theatre near you

I must admit, I rarely go to the movies these days. The time that it takes for a movie to go from your local theatre to your local television screen is barely a few months. I don’t think I’m the only one who would rather watch a movie in the convenience of my own home, rather than a large overpriced theatre. However, there are times when I’ll make an exception. Some movies you just have to see right away. Being an impatient person, sometimes I just can’t wait. So when I saw the trailer for the independent British drama, “Never Let Me Go,” I knew it was one of those times I would have to make an exception. On September 15th, the film came out in limited release. Living in a fairly moderate sized town, I knew I would have to travel a little to see this movie. Our one theatre town only caters to movies with a budget of one-hundred million dollars or more. I checked showtimes, on several days and websites, and nothing. The movie wasn’t or isn’t playing anywhere near where I live. So why? Why do movie studios do this to us poor independent British movie lovers? I’m not a mathematical genius, I barely passed all my math classes, but couldn’t they make more money if they actually played the movie in more theatres? Isn’t that their goal? To make money? Every time I see that a movie is playing in limited release (Those are the ones I usually want to see), I know I have to give up any chance of seeing it in the theatre. Usually being a lower budgeted movie, I have to wait even longer to see it on DVD. Why? I just don’t understand the logical reasons of having a movie in limited release. Please tell me. What am I missing here? I guess I’ll just have to watch the trailer over and over again, until that lucky day when they decided to use that five cents to put it on DVD.

Don’t you hate it when a movie is in limited release? Why do you think these movie studios do this to movie lovers? Did you also want to see Never Let Me Go, but it wasn’t playing in a theatre near you? Tell me in the comments!


2 Comments Add yours

  1. Cindy says:

    Unfortunately, decisions like limited release always revolve around money; it costs quite a bit to release a movie widely, and a studio won’t be willing to do that if they feel the movie can’t make it back. So, they release it in areas where it has a good chance of making a profit, like New York or Los Angeles. This movie actually looks pretty interesting. I’m not too bothered by limited releases, but that’s because I live in New York and have a good shot at seeing movies like this; of course, I have to be willing to get on a subway train into Manhattan, which I am not so readily willing to do. In the end, I guess I just wind up waiting until I can rent it on DVD, or I completely forget about it until I notice it’s on TV. Do you experience the limited release frustration a lot, or does your closest movie theater have a mix of big budget and indie-type films?

    1. My theatre NEVER shows any independent movies. I usually have to go at least 30 minutes away to AMC (It’s not that bad though) to see those kinds of movies. It’s rare when they don’t have the movie I want to see. I try to wait until it’s on DVD, but it usually takes twice as long for the indie movies, unlike the big budget ones. It may be just me, but being unable to see the movie you want to see get’s irritating. Wow. I need to stop ranting. Do they have a cure for an excessive need to rant? 😉

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