20 Really Great Movies Unceremoniously Discarded in January
Big-budget film screenings tend to open in the summer, when there’s less chance of bad weather ruining the box office opening weekend. Award-winning films typically release in the fall, so they’ll be fresh in the minds of critics and audiences as the voting deadline approaches. So where is January?
Although the studios will never openly admit it, the first months of the year are widely known as the dumping ground: the place where troubled projects die and the realm of low-budget action and horror films, comedies and teen movies that don’t have to go broke to make a (small) bank. And there is no month more boring than January.
However! If you love triangulated summer blockbusters and the obvious lure of awards, January can really be a fun time to go to the movies – everything feels a little less calculated and a little more unpredictable. And every now and then you see something really good. Here are 20 January releases that are really worth your time. Some of them even became box office hits.