Indie Film Release Guide: December 27th [An ONTD Original]

[scriptedending]

Christmas has already come and gone, but this upcoming weekend between holidays promises to be merry for some of the major studios. Sony’s Little Women and 20th Century Fox’s Spies in Disguise both went wide on Christmas Day, while Universal’s 1917 and Warner Bros’ Just Mercy opened in limited release. A24’s Uncut Gems, which opened a couple of weeks ago in limited release, expanded to a wide release as of Christmas Day. Of course, despite these new entrants at the box office, Disney’s Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is still set to stomp all over the competition.

The films listed are from studios other than the “Big Six” - Paramount, Warner Brothers, 20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia/Sony and Disney. Note that some of the movies listed are in their first week or two of limited release in the USA, so it may take them a few more weeks (or months) to show up in your local arthouse theater or on VOD. Check out the posts from the past few weeks for more movies that may have just opened near you: December 20th, December 13th, and December 6th.

Clemency

Click to view

Stars: Alfre Woodard, Aldis Hodge, Richard Schiff, Wendell Pierce
Writer/Director: Chinonye Chukwu
Genre: Drama
Plot: Years of carrying out death row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams. As she prepares to execute another inmate, Bernadine must confront the psychological and emotional demons her job creates, ultimately connecting her to the man she is sanctioned to kill.
What you should know: The director, who is a professor at AFI, was inspired to work on a film about death row after the execution of Troy Davis in 2011.
Opens in: Select cities



The Song of Names

Click to view

Stars: Jonah Hauer-King, Clive Owen, Tim Roth, Eddie Izzard
Writer: Jeffrey Caine
Director: François Girard
Genre: Drama
Plot: Several years after his childhood friend, a violin prodigy, disappears on the eve of his first solo concert, an Englishman travels throughout Europe to find him.
What you should know: Based on the novel by Norman Lebrecht.
Opens in: Select cities

Ip Man 4

Click to view

Stars: Scott Adkins, Donnie Yen, Kwok-Kwan Chan, Chris Collins
Writer: Tai-lee Chan, Hiroshi Fukazawa
Director: Wilson Yip
Genre: Action, Biography, Drama
Plot: The Kung Fu master travels to the U.S. where his student has upset the local martial arts community by opening a Wing Chun school.
What you should know: It’s in Mandarin and Cantonese.
Opens in: Select cities

Apparition

Click to view

Stars: Mena Suvari, Kevin Pollak, Megan West, Annalisa Cochrane
Writer: Mark S. Allen, Waymon Boone, Howard Burd, Rob Rose
Director: Waymon Boone
Genre: Horror
Plot: Follows a group of millennials who find themselves at an abandoned castle, experimenting with a spiritually guided app that connects the living with the dead. This ominous, historic site of murder and torture is linked to each of them in ways they'll soon discover.
What you should know: Based on the former correctional facility The Preston School of Industry.
Opens in: Select cities and VOD.

Good Newwz

Click to view

Stars: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Diljit Dosanjh, Kiara Advani
Writer: Jyoti Kapoor, Raj Mehta, Rishabh Sharma
Director: Raj Mehta
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Plot: Two couples with the same surnames pursue in-vitro fertilization and wait for their upcoming babies. Trouble ensues when they find that the sperms of each couple have been mixed with each other.
What you should know: It’s in Hindi and English.
Opens in: Select cities

Ice Princess Lily

Click to view

Stars: Cameron Ansell, Kristin Fairlie, Benedict Campbell, Dan Petronijevic
Writer: Toby Genkel, Gerrit Hermans, Marco Petry, Hortense Ullrich
Director: Sven Unterwaldt Jr.
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Plot: A young dragon looking for his own fire must fight against an evil wizard with help of the beautiful ice princess, Lilli.
What you should know: It’s in German.
Opens in: Select cities

Chichinette: The Accidental Spy

Click to view

Director: Nicola Hens
Genre: Documentary
Plot: Marthe Cohn, a 99 year old Jewish woman born in France, tells the story of how she became a spy in Nazi Germany. For decades after the war ended she never spoke about the experience, but now she travels the globe to share her story.
What you should know: It’s in French and English.
Opens in: Select cities

Source 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

What have you been watching lately, ONTD? Seeing anything this weekend?