What’s Streaming This Week (12/3 - 12/10)
December 5th, 2023
KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - $19.99 Rental
We’ve been getting lots of questions about our reporting on this release. We get it. Apple has not announced it, and no other major outlets have confirmed. But we stand by our story. So why don’t we provide our sourcing? Two reasons: 1) We work tirelessly to research correct streaming premiere dates, and our sources are all available publicly. But we also don’t want to provide these sources to our competitors. They are free to track them down and post themselves. But we’re not going to make it easy for them. 2) We don’t want our sources to be restricted. Studios are increasingly tightening the information flow (which they should!), and we want to keep getting you accurate news. We’ve sometimes posted screenshots of our sources, and very soon after those channels were cut off.
So we hope, as always, that our track record speaks for itself. If you’re new to this site, or our social handles, trust that we take our reporting very seriously. We never post dates without thoroughly vetting them first. Does that mean we will always get things 100% right? No. Dates change. Sometimes listings are incorrect. But we will always make sure our information is updated and that our calendars/listings/posts are useful resources for our readers.
Anyway…Killers of The Flower Moon will be available on digital and VOD platforms on 12/5! We know it’ll be available for rental (at a $19.99 price point). We don’t know whether it’ll be available for sale, and we don’t know when it’ll arrive on Apple TV+. We will, of course, stay on top of it and post with any news.
THE PERSIAN VERSION - $14.99 Sale / $5.99 Rental
Maryam Keshavarz’s cutlure clash dramedy was a big hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where Keshavarz won both the US Dramatic Competition Audience Award, and also the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. But when Sony Pictures Classics released the film in US theaters in October, it failed to make much of an impact. SPC has wisely reduced their usual streaming window (mostly 90-days), which will hopefully help this charmer find an audience on home screens. The distributor has been hit hard by the collapse of the arthouse market, and we want them to thrive.
SUBJECT - $9.99 Sale / $3.99 Rental
This fascinating documentary explores the life-altering experience of sharing one’s life on screen through key participants of documentaries The Staircase, Hoop Dreams, The Wolfpack, Capturing the Friedmans and The Square. These documentary ‘stars’ reveal the highs and lows of their experiences, as well as the everyday realities of having their lives put under a microscope. The film also features commentary from such influential people in the doc world as Kirsten Johnson, Sam Pollard, Thom Powers, and Sonya Childress, who all help unpack the vital issues around the ethics and responsibilities in documentary filmmaking.
December 7th, 2023
SHOWING UP - Paramount+ w/Showtime
Kelly Reichardt’s latest arrives on SVOD just in time for end-of-the-year 10 Best lists, and also for the Film Independent Spirit Award nominations, which will be announced Tuesday. We’re hoping the film gets a lot of love from the Indie Spirts, with Reichardt, Michelle Williams and Hong Chau all deserving. Sadly, the film is unlikely to get much traction with Oscar voters. For whatever reason, Reichardt’s films have not done well with the Academy. If you haven’t caught it yet, definitely give Showing Up a look.
December 8th, 2023
JOURNEY TO BETHLEHEM - TBD Sale / TBD Rental
The latest from faith-based studio Affirm Pictures (a division of Sony Pictures), Journey to Bethlehem is an ambitious holiday film that weaves classic Christmas melodies in to new pop songs, creating a music-infused retelling of the story of Mary and Joseph and the birth of Jesus. Unfortunately, it’s Affirm’s second big bomb of the year. Their spring film BIG GEORGE FOREMAN landed with a thud in theaters and was an expensive flop. Journey to Bethlehem could have a longer shelf life. It got decent reviews, and if it finds an audience on home platforms, could become a Christmas perennial.
LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND - Netflix
Sam Esmail’s psychological thriller comes with some impressive pedigree. It’s based on the acclaimed 2020 novel of the same name by Rumaan Alam, and features an impressive cast (Julia Roberts, Mahershala Ali, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Bacon, Myha’la). So why is the buzz so muted? Reviews have been generally favorable. Is there some fatigue around apocalypse dramas? We’re excited to check this one out, and maybe the lowered expectations will actually work in its favor.
LORD OF MISRULE - TBD Sale / TBD Rental
The latest from schlock (not derogatory) auteur William Brent Bell, who’s last film Orphan: First Kill was a huge step up in quality from some of his previous efforts. To us, he’ll always be the filmmaker who dared to end a film (2012’s The Devil Inside) with a prompt to go to a website ‘for more information.’ You know what that gets you? An ‘F’ Cinemascore! Lord of Misrule looks interesting. We’ll definitely be checking it out.
MERRY LITTLE BATMAN - Prime Video
A DC property that curiously will not debut on Max, but on Amazon’s Prime Video platform. At least it didn’t get shelved? Merry Little Batman stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Luke Wilson, James Cromwell, and David Hornsby, and in the film, (son of Batman) Damian Wayne must protect Wayne Manor from villains during Christmas. Nice. It’ll have to be pretty great to eclipse the ultimate Batman Christmas movie: 1992’s Batman Returns.
THE MISSION - Hulu
From director/producers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, The Mission is a documentary that explores the death of American missionary John Allen Chau, who was killed by arrows while attempting to make contact with one of the world's most isolated Indigenous peoples. It premiered at this year’s Telluride Film Festival to near universal acclaim, and will likely be a contender for a Best Documentary Feature Oscar nomination. It’s launch on Hulu should increase its profile significantly.
THE SACRIFICE GAME - Shudder, AMC+
After last week’s It’s a Wonderful Knife, Shudder continues to provide its subscribers plenty of holiday horror. This one looks like a slasher version of The Holdovers, where boarding school students Samantha (Madison Baines) and Clara (Georgia Acken) can't go home for the holidays, but things take a deadly turn when a murderous gang arrives on their doorstep. It won the Best Canadian Feature Audience Award at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival, and as we always say, if it’s approved by Canadians, we’re in.
YOUR CHRISTMAS OR MINE 2 - Prime Video
A sequel to the 2022 Christmas comedy Your Christmas or Mine, this British holiday comedy reunites that film’s screenwriter Tom Parry, director Jim O'Hanlon and stars Asa Butterfield, Cora Kirk, Daniel Mays, Angela Griffin and Alex Jennings. But they brought in the big gun for the sequel: national (American) treasure Jane Krakowski. We unironically think Jane Krakowski is one of the most talented comedienne’s of the last 30 years. Whether it’s National Lampoon’s Vacation’s Cousin Vicki, 30 Rock’s Jenna Maroney, or her memorable turns on BoJack Horseman, Schmiggadoon! or Dickinson, Krakowski is unforgettable. So for us, she alone is reason to check out this sequel.
Happy Streaming Everyone!
