‘The Outpost’ Still Strong on VOD, While John Lewis and Danny Trejo Docs Score

Tom Brueggemann

July 21, 2020 at 2:22 PM·5 min read

With Warner Bros. vacating its August 12 worldwide release date for “Tenet,” we’re still many weeks away from any approximation of normal business. Meanwhile, the VOD world continues apace with Rod Lurie’s Afghanistan war-set “The Outpost” leading the way. Now in its third week, the Screen Media title remains at #1 at Apple and Spectrum.

Perhaps even more impressive: “Outpost” is #2 at FandangoNow, which ranks by revenue — and Lurie’s film has a non-premium price of $6.99. Even outside a theater, some of its truisms remain — never underestimate the appeal of a military-themed film. In first place at FandangoNow was “Trolls World Tour,” which recently reduced its price from $19.99 to $5.99.

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Among other recent premium VOD titles, the best showing this week is “The King of Staten Island” at #2 at Amazon Prime. However, there’s a growing trend for some more specialized titles to pop up. “John Lewis: Good Trouble,” the acclaimed documentary about the late Rep. John Lewis, was as high as #6 at Apple this weekend. It’s released by Magnolia, which had great success a few years ago with “I Am Not Your Negro” about James Baldwin, another iconic Black figure. Watch this to receive more attention soon.

Meantime, Universal released the documentary “Inmate #1 — The Rise of Danny Trejo;” Spectrum has it at #5. The cable service also shows top 10 interest for romantic comedy “The Swing of Things” (Lionsgate) with Luke Wilson is #6, crime thriller “Money Plane” (Quiver) with Kelsey Grammer is #8. It all suggests a clamor for new films, but whether and when this translates to theaters remains to be seen.

The well-reviewed “Relic” (IFC) popped up again on two charts. It is one of the handful of titles also playing theatrically where possible. (While the streamer announced it had the biggest opening weekend ever, the news would have been had it not.)

“Palm Springs” (Neon) is playing around 30 theaters, mostly drive-ins, for the second week along with its strong Hulu viewings. Sources said for the 17 outlets that reported Sunday, it grossed around $101,000. Incomplete figures make the per-theater average uncertain, but it appears to easily exceed $3,000. That’s about as strong as any film that played more than a handful of theaters since March.

The weekend saw the opening in South Korea and other markets of “Peninsula,” the sequel to “Train to Busan.” These were encouraging, and suggest at least some foreign markets are primed to go.

Netflix released its most comprehensive list of view figures for their films last week. As always, its constantly changing top 10 movies has a fresh #1. Original post-affair thriller “Fatal Affair” took over at the top. But Gina Price-Bythewood’s “The Old Guard” at #2 is hanging in better than some other recent new titles. Still, some things never change: “365 Days,” which may be the most-seen Polish film ever made, is still popular in its seventh week. Expect it to rise in their all-time list next time out.

Apple TV

Ranked by number of transactions, with position as of Monday, July 20

1. The Outpost (Screen Media) – $6.99

2. Trolls World Tour (Universal) – $5.99

3. Arkansas (Lionsgate) – $5.99

4. The Invisible Man (Universal) – $5.99

5. The Archive (Vertical) – $6.99

6. Lucy (Universal) – $3.99

7. Safe House (Universal) – $3.99

8. John Lewis: Good Trouble (Magnolia) – $6.99

9. Relic (IFC) – $6.99

10. Dolittle (Universal) – $5.99

FandangoNOW

Ranked by revenue accrued not transactions, for the week of July 13 – 19

1. Trolls World Tour (Universal) – $5.99

2. The Outpost (Screen Media) – $6.99

3. The King of Staten Island (Universal) – $19.99

4. Scoob! (Warner Bros.) – $19.99

5. You Should Have Left (Universal) – $19.99

6. Force of Nature (Lionsgate) – $5.99

7. The Invisible Man (Universal) – $5.99

8. Archive – (Vertical) – $6.99

9. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) – $4.99

10. Irresistible (Focus) – $19.99

Spectrum

Ranked by transactions for July 10 – 16; all $6.99 except as noted

1. The Outpost (Screen Media)

2. Trolls World Tour (Universal)

3. Force of Nature (Lionsgate)

4. Relic (IFC)

5. Inmate #1: The Rise of Danny Trejo (Universal)

6. Swing of Things (Lionsgate)

7. The Invisible Man (Universal)

8. Money Plane (Quiver)

9. Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount)

10 Bad Boys for Life (Sony)

Amazon Prime

Ranked by number of transactions, with the daily position as of Tuesday, July 21

1. The Greatest Showman (Disney) – $3.99

2. The King of Staten Island (Universal) – $19.99

3. Trolls World Tour (Universal) – $5.99

4. Sonic the Hedgehog (Paramount) – $4.99

5. Jumanji: The Next Level (Sony) – $5.99

6. The Gentlemen (STX) – $5.99

7. John Wick (Lionsgate) – $3.99

8. Game Night (Warner Bros.) – $3.99

9. Bad Boys for Life (Sony) – $5.99

10. The Addams Family (United Artists) – $5.99

Netflix Movies

Most-viewed, current ranking as of Tuesday, July 21

1. Fatal Affair (2020 Netflix original)

2. The Old Guard (2020 Netflix original)

3. The Lorax (2012 theatrical release)

4. How Do You Know (2010 theatrical release)

5. MILF (2018 Netflix original)

6. Despicable Me (2010 theatrical release)

7. Devil’s Gate (2018 theatrical release)

8. 365 Days (2020 Polish Netflix original)

9. The Grinch (2018 theatrical release)

10. Desperados (2020 Netflix original)

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