After a brief hiatus I am back with this weekly review of how films are performing in real time in the cinema. Hopefully these will give some insight into audience potential for more non-mainstream films and also my opinion of how films are playing in the marketplace.

Hereditary first casts its spell at the Midnight section of the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Word then grew to serious campaign when critics started to invoke The Exorcist, Rosemary’s Baby and Psycho, which of course is priceless for marketing. It should be remembered that a) this was a directorial debut and b) Sundance is the home to discovery and sometimes break out indie film. So it was a bit surprising that Entertainment released it on over 500 prints with a ‘strike whilst the hype’. The result was a circa £3k screen average which is mediocre against expectation. Audience response at Watershed has been mixed as the film has to meet said expectations, which is a shame given that it’s a hugely enjoyable thriller/horror. (It is worth remembering that Donnie Darko – of similar Sundance pedigree – was released on under 100 prints and went onto not only generate significant income but become a cult film).

Other films opening at Watershed were coming-of-age drama The Ciambra, the re-issue of Jane Campion’s The Piano and Andrew Kottings Lek and the Dogs. Both films were on very small releases – 25, 13 and 5 respectively. We did them on single shows and they achieved solid admissions. These are always going to be niche titles, but their pedigree would ensure healthy admissions for one-off or single show weekend slots. The Kotting in particular is ideal in an arts centre context, or if you have an arts school/film course on your doorstep.

• Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator, Watershed