You want to know why Sundance Film Festival pickups have been failing at the Box-Office this year? Well, it’s quite simple really: most of the big sells at this past January’s festival were overpraised. Simple as that. There is no other explanation. Movies like “Brittany Runs A Marathon,” “Late Night,” and “Last Black Man in San Francisco” are just not good enough to become breakout hits. So, why were they praised to high heavens? The answer to that question should be reserved for a whole other write-up, but, let’s just say it has to do with critics deciding to virtue signal to no ends.
Of course, Netflix got into the game as well by purchasing and streaming “Extremely Vile, Shockingly Evil and Vile,” “I Am Mother,” and “Velvet Buzzsaw.” None of those turned out to be highlights of the movie year.
Variety’s Rebecca Rubin tackles the failures to ignite of these and other big-money sold titles, but she can’t quite bring herself to admit that it’s more than just about the quality of these films. Critics have completely lost their readership by praising to the high heavens these and other “progressively-minded” films. Yes, inclusive casting and directing is incredibly important, but it does not always make for a great movie.
Is it a coincidence that the one big narrative breakout from Sundance was, and deservedly so, A24’s “The Farewell”? — an excellent, well-acted film with incredible emotional resonance. Not many movies that premiered at Sundance in 2019 can really claim having the same success as Lulu Wang’s film. I was disappointed that Julius Onah’s “Luce” didn’t spark a fire at the Box-office, that was the other dramatic highlight for me at this year’s festival and one of the very best movies I have seen this year.
So, what’s left to be released from Sundance 2019? Of the titles which could gain the most buzz I would say Scott Z. Burns’ “The Report” has the best shot, it will be playing Telluride and TIFF. Othernoteworthy upcoming releases include Minhal Baig’s excellent “Hala” and Shia LaBoeuf autobiography “Honey Boy.”