The DVD release schedule is pretty slim for August 16. There are only three movies on the slate, but as we draw closer to the fall television premieres, viewers can look to catch up with five shows that get their previous seasons released.
The Angry Birds Movie
Rovio continues to squeeze every bit of revenue out of their most successful property. In all likelihood, The Angry Birds Movie can expect to win on DVD and digital this week. While the reviews were less than stellar, The Angry Birds Movie managed to pull in over $345 million worldwide.
The story centers around a bird with an attitude that has alienated him from his fellow townspeople. A final straw sees him sentenced to anger management classes with the rest of the birds from the game you might recognize. When a group of pigs show up looking to befriend the birds, Red is skeptical.
Jason Sudeikis plays the lead bird Red. Danny Mcbride plays the role of Bomb. Josh Gad, whose voice you may know from Olaf in Frozen plays Chuck.
God’s Not Dead 2
In 2014, God’s Not Dead saw a surprising amount of success. It had a slim production budget of just $2 million. It used grass roots marketing through faith-based organizations primarily for its advertisements. In the end, it grossed over $62 million, including a $9.2 million opening weekend which garnered a surprisingly fourth place finish.
As with most movies, success breeds sequels. This week, God’s Not Dead 2 releases on DVD and digital. This version center’s on a teacher (Melissa Joan Hart) fighting for the right to discuss Christianity in her classroom. While it only scored a nine percent from critics on Rotten Tomatoes , the public rated it fresh at 62 percent.
Monetarily, God’s Not Dead 2 could be considered somewhat of a success, but it pales in comparison to the original. It managed to gross just $20 million at the box office on a budget of $5 million.
Sundown
While Sundown is your typical spring break movie, audiences have received it well. The story follows two high school seniors who agree to meet up with a couple of girls in Puerto Rico on spring break. Instead, they fall for the local ladies. This gets them in trouble when one of the locals working with a gangster steals one of the boy’s watches that had been given to him by his grandfather.
Critics gave Sundown … well, nothing. It has a zero percent on Rotten Tomatoes . The Washington Post was especially critical of it.
“The best thing about Sundown is that it’s too dumb to be offensive.”
While there isn’t a lot to choose from the movie side, there is plenty to stay busy with on the television front. Vampire Diaries has announced that Season 8 will be its last. The penultimate season releases Tuesday. This should give viewers who missed out plenty of time to catch up before the premiere on October 21.
Once Upon a Time Season 5 is set to release as well this week. Fans have just about a month to catch up on the happenings of a town full of misplaced fairy tales. Season 6 is set to premiere on September 25.
About a week before Once Upon a Time , Gotham opens its Season 3. Season 2 is scheduled for this week, as well as Season 2 of The Affair .
AMC is releasing the final season of its critically acclaimed western series Hell on Wheels , Tuesday.
This week’s DVD release schedule in a lot of ways reflects the theatrical release schedule this week. Most summer blockbusters are over, and they won’t be available until later in the year. In the meantime expect the final week of the Summer Olympics to occupy most of the television time.
[Image via Rovio]
