

‘Smile,’ ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ ‘Woman King’ Lead Dec. 13 New Releases Slate
December 13, 2022
Dec. 13 new releases include Smile, Ticket to Paradise, The Woman King and Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile on Disc, while The Banshees of Inisherin and Prey for the Devil arrive for digital purchase.
Paramount Home Entertainment will release the horror film Smile on Blu-ray Disc, DVD and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on Dec. 13. The film stars Sosie Bacon as a therapist who begins to experience an overwhelming terror that takes over her life after witnessing a patient’s bizarre suicide. The cast also includes Jessie T. Usher, Kyle Gallner, Caitlin Stasey, Kal Penn and Rob Morgan. Smile has earned more than $105.9 million at the domestic box office and $210 million globally, making it the top original horror film of the year.
The rom-com Ticket to Paradise will be available on Blu-ray and DVD Dec. 13 from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Ticket to Paradise stars Academy Award winners Julia Roberts and George Clooney as exes who find themselves on a shared mission: to stop their lovestruck daughter from making the same mistake they once made. It earned $67.5 million at the domestic box office.
The Woman King arrives on DVD, Blu-ray Disc and 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Dec. 13 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The historical drama stars Viola Davis as the titular character and is inspired by true events that took place in the Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. Davis’ character, General Nanisca, leads the Agojie, an all-female unit of warriors who protect the kingdom. The film follows her as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life. The cast also includes Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega. The film earned more than $67 million at the domestic box office.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment releases the comedy Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray Disc and DVD Dec. 13. The film earned $46.2 million at the global box office. In the film, when the Primm family moves to New York City, their young son Josh struggles to adapt to his new school and new friends. All of that changes when he discovers Lyle — a singing crocodile who loves baths, caviar and great music — living in the attic of his new home. The two become fast friends, but when Lyle’s existence is threatened by evil neighbor Mr. Grumps, the Primm’s must band together with Lyle’s charismatic owner Hector P. Valenti to show the world that family can come from the most unexpected places and there’s nothing wrong with a big singing crocodile with an even bigger personality.
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment will release And Just Like That … The Complete First Season on DVD Dec. 13. The DVD includes all 10 episodes from the first season of the HBO Max series that serves as a revival of “Sex and the City,” and features returning cast members Sarah Jessica Parker, Cynthia Nixon and Charlotte. The cast also includes Sara Ramírez, Sarita Choudhury, Nicole Ari Parker, Karen Pittman, Mario Cantone, David Eigenberg, Willie Garson and Evan Handler.
Paramount Home Entertainment releases Reacher: Season One on Blu-ray Disc and DVD Dec. 13. The Prime Video original series is based on Lee Child’s novel series about veteran military police investigator Jack Reacher, who has just recently entered civilian life. Played by Alan Ritchson, Reacher is a drifter, carrying no phone and the barest of essentials as he travels the country and explores the nation he once served. When Reacher arrives in the small town of Margrave, Ga., he finds a community grappling with its first homicide in 20 years. The cops immediately arrest him and eyewitnesses claim to place Reacher at the scene of the crime. While he works to prove his innocence, a deep-seated conspiracy begins to emerge, one that will require Reacher’s keen mind and hard-hitting fists to deal with. Prime Video has renewed the series for a second season. The first season will be available as a three-disc set on Blu-ray Disc or DVD, with a 4K Ultra HD edition available on a manufacture-on-demand basis. The discs include all eight episodes from the first season, plus 30 minutes of bonus featurettes: “Realizing Reacher,” a look behind the scenes, and “Novelistic,” an in-depth interview with Child.
The thriller The Minute You Wake Up Dead will be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD Dec. 13 from Lionsgate. The film stars Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby), Jaimie Alexander (Thor) and Cole Hauser (“Yellowstone”). In the noir thriller, a stockbroker romances a waitress as a murder shocks a small town. Someone’s getting rich — but who? The Minute You Wake Up Dead is directed by Micheal Miller.
The drama Call Jane arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD Dec. 13 from Lionsgate. Inspired by true events of Chicago’s underground abortion network known as The Jane Collective, Call Jane stars Sigourney Weaver, Elizabeth Banks and Kate Mara. Set in Chicago in 1968 as a city and the nation are on the brink of political upheaval, the film follows suburban housewife Joy (Banks), her husband and daughter, who are living the all-American dream until Joy’s life-threatening pregnancy forces her to navigate a medical establishment unwilling to help. This impossible situation leads Joy to the “Janes,” an underground network providing the only available alternative, helmed by fierce advocates Virginia (Weaver) and Gwen (Wunmi Mosaku), who not only save Joy’s life, but change it forever.
Distribution Solutions will release the Mill Creek Entertainment faith film Lifemark on digital, DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 13. From executive producers Kirk Cameron and the Kendrick Brothers —creators of War Room and Fireproof — Lifemark is inspired by a true story. In the film, David’s comfortable world is turned upside down when his birth mother unexpectedly reaches out to him, longing to meet the 18-year-old son she’s only held once. With the encouragement of his adoptive parents, David embarks on a journey of discovery that leads to a staggering truth from his past. The film stars Kirk Cameron and Alex Kendrick.
The faith and family film Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters will be released on DVD and digital Dec. 13 from Pureflix and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Inspired by the best-selling book of the same name by Dr. Meg Meeker, the story follows a wealthy businessman who learns of his daughter’s sudden engagement to a missionary and embarks on a quest to keep her closer to home. When his efforts go awry, he must reconsider what it means to be a strong father. The film is a heartfelt journey of a parent who is desperately trying to hold on to his children who learns to trust in God with their future instead of controlling his daughter’s narrative. Both set of couples, playing Steve and Connie (Bart Johnson and Robyn Lively) and Carlos and Bella (David Barrera and Maria Canals-Barrera), are also married in real life.
From director Pierre Morel (Taken) comes the foreign action film The Ambush, available in a new English dub Dec. 13 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc from Well Go USA Entertainment. In the film based on a true story, three UAE soldiers on the final patrol of their deployment are ambushed by heavily armed militants, leaving them wounded, isolated and nearly out of ammunition. They are trapped in a remote canyon with only one chance for survival: a daring, midnight-hour rescue mission plotted by their courageous commander. The Ambush stars Marwan Abdulla Saleh, Khalifa Al Jassem, Mohammed Ahmed, Abdulla Saeed Bin Haider, Saeed Alharsh, Hassan Yousuf Alblooshi, Khalifa Albahri, Ghanim Nasser and Mansoor Alfeeli.
Searchlight Pictures’ The Banshees of Inisherin will be released through digital retailers Dec. 13 by Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution. From acclaimed filmmaker Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), the tragicomedy is an immersive tale of friendship and folly starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. In the film, although Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) have been lifelong friends, they find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, bringing alarming consequences for both of them. The film made its world premiere in September at the Venice Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay Award for McDonagh and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor for Farrell. It arrives on Blu-ray and DVD Dec. 20.
The horror film Prey for the Devil arrives for digital purchase Dec. 13 from Lionsgate. In the film, Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers) believes she is answering a calling to be the first female exorcist — but who, or what, called her? In response to a global rise in demonic possessions, Ann seeks out a place at an exorcism school reopened by the Catholic Church. Until she arrives, such schools had only trained priests in the Rite of Exorcism, but a professor (Colin Salmon) recognizes Sister Ann’s gifts and agrees to train her. Thrust onto the spiritual frontline with fellow student Father Dante (Christian Navarro), Sister Ann finds herself in a battle for the soul of a young girl, who Sister Ann believes is possessed by the same demon that tormented her own mother years ago. Determined to root out the evil, Ann soon realizes that evil has been expecting her. The cast also includes Lisa Palfrey, Nicholas Ralph, Ben Cross and Virginia Madsen. It arrives on Blu-ray, DVD, 4K Ultra HD and VOD Jan. 3.
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Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is releasing a collection of holiday titles for digital purchase Dec. 13. A Christmas Story Christmas follows Ralphie from the classic A Christmas Story, who all grown up. In this sequel to the annual holiday favorite, he must deal with Christmas and all that comes with it, this time as a dad. Peter Billingsley returns to the role he played as a child. The film also stars Erinn Hayes, Scott Schwartz, R.D. Robb, Zack Ward and Julie Hagerty. In Holiday Harmony, singer/songwriter Gail lands an opportunity to compete for a once-in-a-lifetime shot at the big time, and heads cross country — only getting as far as Harmony Springs, Okla., when her ride, her budget and all her hopes are stalled. With just two weeks to get to the iHeartRadio Christmas Eve performance of her dreams, she takes the advice of local Jack-of-all-trades Jeremy and takes on a group of misfit kids hoping to perform in a Christmas Eve Gala of their own. Gail and Jeremy grow close, but if she’s going to fulfill her lifelong dream, she may have to leave him and the town she’s grown to love behind. The film stars Annelise Cepero, Jeremy Sumpter and Brooke Shields. In A Christmas Mystery, 100 years ago, a strip of Santa’s magical jingle bells was discovered by a young boy in Shelter Bay, Ore., bringing about a century of prosperity and peace for the small town. Now, just days before Christmas, the bells — the lifeblood of the town — are missing, and it’s up to a group of intrepid kids to solve the case, find the bells and restore the Christmas magic to Shelter Bay and its citizens. The film stars Violet McGraw, Santino Bernard, Lauren Lindsay Donzis, Leonardo Cecchi, Eddie Cibrian, Oscar Nuñez, Christoph Sanders, Drew Powell and Beau Bridges. A Hollywood Christmas follows Jessica, a young, up-and-coming filmmaker in Hollywood who has made a name for herself directing Christmas movies. But when handsome network executive Christopher shows up threatening to halt production on her latest movie, Jessica’s assistant Reena points out the irony: Jessica isn’t just trying to save her Christmas movie, she’s actually living in one. Jessica must now juggle all the classic tropes — her actors falling in and out of love, a wayward elf dog, and her own stirring romantic feelings for her perceived nemesis — in order to get her movie and her life to their happy endings. The film stars Jessica Van, Josh Swickard, Anissa Borrego, Riley Dandy, Zak Steiner, Tom Williamson and Missi Pyle.
The holiday drama Who Is Christmas Eve? will be available on digital and VOD Dec. 13 from Lionsgate. Directed by Christina Faith (Masters of the Game, Love You Right: An R&B Musical), the film is inspired by the work of investigative genealogist Pam Slaton. It follows Eve, an adoptee who was left on the steps of a church on Christmas Eve as a newborn, who feels like she can’t move forward in her relationship with her boyfriend Chris because she’s uncertain as to who she really is and where she really comes from. As a Christmas present, Chris hires investigative genealogist Pam Slaton to solve the mystery of Eve’s origin. As Pam works to reunite Eve with her birth family, Eve and Chris embark on an emotional and romantic journey that may lead them to marriage and a committed future together. The film stars Paige Audrey-Marie Hurd (TV’s “Power Book II: Ghost,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Hawaii Five-O”), Juliana Harkavy (TV’s “Arrow,” “The Flash,” “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow”), Romeo Miller (TV’s “Paper Empire,” “Empire,” “Romeo!”), Alex Wong (The Greatest Showman, TV’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” “Glee”), Bradley Stryker (Let Him Go, Cold Pursuit, TV’s “Supernatural”) and Keith Arthur Bolden (TV’s “Lovecraft Country,” “Cobra Kai,” “Black Lightning”).
The Silent Night, Deadly Night Collection of three horror films will be released on Blu-ray (plus digital) Dec. 13 from Lionsgate. The collection includes Vestron Video classics Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989), Silent Night, Deadly Night 4: Initiation (1990) and Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker (1991). In Better Watch Out!, it’s a very bloody Christmas after Ricky Caldwell, the notorious “Killer Santa Claus,” awakens from a six-year coma with one thing on his mind: murder. In Initiation, a reporter’s investigation into a mysterious death leads her into the clutches of a cult that’s chosen her as its new queen. Finally, The Toy Maker stars entertainment legend Mickey Rooney as a toy maker whose creations display some very human — and deadly — tendencies.
The Julia Roberts classic My Best Friend’s Wedding is being released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Dec. 13 for its 25th anniversary from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Roberts, Dermot Mulroney, Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett star in the 1997 romantic comedy. Roberts is commitment-shy Jules Potter, who reluctantly realizes she is in love with her best friend Michael (Mulroney). There is just one catch: he’s about to marry someone else. Comically crazed and full of devious plans, Jules will do anything to steal him back — except tell him the simple truth. The film is remastered in 4K resolution from the original camera negative with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos audio plus original theatrical 5.1. The 4K UHD release does not include a Blu-ray and includes digital for a limited time.
Studio Laika and Shout! Factory have announced the Dec. 13 disc release of Coraline and ParaNorman, both of which have been remastered by Laika CEO Travis Knight and visual effects supervisor Steve Emerson. The films will be available in a 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray limited Steelbook edition, with a standard edition also available. From Henry Selick, 2009’s Coraline is a suspenseful adventure featuring a young girl who walks through a secret door in her new home, only to discover an alternate version of her life. On the surface, this parallel reality is eerily similar to her real life — only better. But when the adventure turns dangerous, and her counterfeit parents try to keep her forever, Coraline must count on her resourcefulness, determination, and bravery to save her family and return home.
From Sam Fell and Chris Butler, ParaNorman features a small town that comes under siege by zombies. The only person who can help is the misunderstood local boy named Norman, who is able to speak to the dead. But this young ghoul-whisperer bravely summons up all that makes a hero as he finds his paranormal activities pushed to their limits.
The documentary Anne Murray: Full Circle will be released on DVD Dec. 13 from Virgil Films. The film takes audiences on a personal and emotional journey showcasing in-depth interviews with Murray exploring her evolution as a ground-breaking, trailblazing female Canadian artist from the ‘60s and ‘70s to a global superstar, selling more than 55 million albums in pop, country, and adult contemporary music over a 40-year career. The film is Murray’s personal story in her own words. The documentary showcases an original, in-depth interview with her, sharing anecdotes, memories, and observations from her 40-plus years in the music business starting with her breakout song “Snowbird” in 1970 reaching No. 1 in the United States and her first Gold Record. Her commitment to simultaneously raising a family and giving her all on tour took an emotional toll, but it also inspired her to push for change. Featuring interviews with Shania Twain, k.d. lang, Bonnie Raitt, Jann Arden, Kenny Loggins, Gordon Lightfoot, manager Bruce Allen, former manager Shep Gordon and others, the film explores not only the creative and business challenges of an international career, but also Murray’s lasting impact.
The Expressionistic German drama Hinterland will be released on DVD plus digital Dec. 13 from Film Movement. The film brings the visual style of post-World War I classics like The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari to the 21st-century through almost exclusive use of blue-screen technology. Winner of the Audience Award at the Locarno International Film Festival and from the director of the Oscar-winning film The Counterfeiters comes this visually audacious work of Expressionistic cinema. In the film, the year is 1920. The Austro-Hungarian Empire has fallen and what remains has devolved into social unrest and political turmoil. Peter Perg, a soldier of the Great War, returns to Vienna only to realize the place he once called home is now unfamiliar to him. Having spent years as a prisoner of war, Perg is disillusioned by this strange new city distorted by the nightmares of war. His world is further upended when a gruesome series of murders targeting veterans begins to unfold. Feeling connected to the victims, Perg decides to investigate the mysterious crimes. A stranger in his own city, the looming threat of a serial killer begins to take its toll on him.
The action thriller Repeater will be available via on demand and digital sale Dec. 13 from Saban Films. The film stars Paul Sidhu, Kristanna Loken, Nick Moran, Corbin Bernsen and Gary Daniels. Repeater follows hired hitman Smith (Sidhu), who is in the crosshairs when rival contract killers come gunning for him. For Smith, his directive is straightforward: seek, locate and terminate. But rival assassins have him in their sites as they track and target each other and aim for their latest assignment, a hacker who threatens to expose the malicious criminality of a conglomerate head.
MVD Entertainment Group will release two horror films from Diabolik on Blu-ray Disc Dec. 13 — Maniac Driver and Nightmare Symphony. In the Japanese horror film Maniac Driver, a deranged taxi driver appears to be randomly stalking and killing various young women on the streets of Tokyo. His descent into madness follows a personal tragedy that has since left him in search of a worthy victim to satisfy his own bloodlust and possible death. Framed by a retro ’80s soundtrack and psychedelic colors, the film features Japan’s top adult stars (Saryu Usui, Iori Kogawa and Ai Sayama, among others) who are portrayed as lascivious victims in a gory, neo-giallo from cult director Kurando Mitsutake (Gun Woman, Karate Kill). Special features include audio commentary by director Kurando Mitsutake; a making-of featurette; and a slideshow.
Nightmare Symphony follows Frank, a stressed-out director trying to complete a seemingly doomed horror film called A Peacock’s Tale. Between ongoing arguments with the scriptwriter and producer, Frank faces his own existential crisis and is plagued by terrible nightmares and paranoia. Life begins to imitate art, it seems, when those involved in the film production are butchered by a mysterious masked figure. Can Frank still differentiate between reality and the brutal killings that are based on the movie’s script? Nightmare Symphony is a tribute to the films of Lucio Fulci and the Italian giallo. Starring Lady in White‘s Frank LaLoggia, written by Antonio Tentori (Fulci’s Cat in the Brain) and directed by Domiziano Cristopharo and Daniele Trani, the horror-thriller also features a soundtrack by Antony Coia and is enhanced by Fabio Frizzi’s original theme of terror. Special features include an exclusive interview with director Domiziano Christopharo; an interview with screenwriter Antonio Tentori; and behind-the-scenes footage.
MVD Entertainment Group and Synapse Films will release the 1976 horror film Creature From Black Lake on DVD and Blu-ray Disc Dec. 13. In the film, there’s a hairy humanoid beast lurking in the Louisiana swamps, but only trapper Joe Canton (Jack Elam, Once Upon a Time in the West) has seen it and lived to tell the tale. The other residents of Oil City, Louisiana, don’t talk about it. But that doesn’t stop intrepid grad students Pahoo (Dennis Fimple, House of 1000 Corpses) and Rives (John David Carson, Empire of the Ants), who are determined to track down the Bigfoot-like creature. Defying local sheriff Billy Carter (Bill Thurman, The Last Picture Show), the duo trek deep into the wilds of Black Lake, and a series of frightening encounters make it clear the monster is no mere legend. Following in the (big) footsteps of The Legend of Boggy Creek and similar docudramas, Creature From Black Lake is a fictional Sasquatch saga, albeit one inspired by real reports.
MVD Entertainment Group will release the Full Moon Features horror film Piranha Women on DVD and Blu-ray Dec. 13. From the fevered mind of indie exploitation movie guru and Emmy award winning director Fred Olen Ray (Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers, Sideshow, The Bay) comes this aquatic teeth-tit exploitation epic. In the film, when Richard James becomes suspicious of his girlfriend’s new experimental medical treatment, he grows even more concerned when she suddenly vanishes. In his frantic search for her, he discovers a secret society of beautiful women, all medically altered by the mysterious Dr Sinclair. They’re something less than human. They’re Piranha women.
Three 1980s action films — Born to Fight, Cop Game and Double Target — are being released on Blu-ray Disc Dec. 13 from Severin Films and MVD Entertainment Group. To create Born to Fight (1989), shortly after completing Strike Commando 2, director Bruno Mattei, screenwriters Claudio Fragasso and Rossella Drudi, and stars Brent Huff and former Miss World/Bond girl Mary Stavin immediately reloaded for another shot-in-the-Philippines, exploding-hut classic. In the film, when a badass Vietnam veteran (Huff) is hired by a television reporter (Stavin) to return to the jungle hellhole where he was tortured as a P.O.W., the fuse is lit for betrayal, vengeance, massive fireballs and incongruous Austrians. Romano Puppo (Robowar), Werner Pochath (Cop Game) and Massimo Vanni (Zombie 3) co-star in this action epic scanned in 2K from the original negative. Special features include audio commentary with Huff and Stavin (theatrical cut only); “Mr. Cobra Dundee,” an interview with screenwriter/assistant director Claudio Fragasso; “Cigarettes in Heaven,” an interview with screenwriter Rossella Drudi; and the trailer.
In Cop Game (1988), after exploding miles of Philippine jungle, director Bruno Mattei and screenwriter Rossella Drudi borrow the plot of Off Limits for an action-thriller that blasts more than just bamboo huts. In the film, in the final days of the Vietnam War, a squad of rogue U.S. soldiers begins slaughtering American officers. But when a tough Army investigator (Huff) and his partner (Max Laurel of Robowar) are assigned to the case, they tear apart Manila-as-Saigon in a frenzy of machine guns, car chases, stock footage and miniatures. Candice Daly (Zombie 4), Werner Pochath (Born to Fight) and Brett Halsey (The Devil’s Honey) co-star in the film restored in 2K from the original negative. Special features include “Sweet Home Manila,” an interview with second unit director Claudio Fragasso; “Giallo in Saigon,” an interview with screenwriter Rossella Drudi; “The Last King of the Philippines,” an interview with producer Franco Gaudenzi; extended scenes; and the trailer.
In Mattei’s Double Target (1987), when terrorist attacks ravage Southeast Asia, the U.S. government recruits former loose-cannon commando Bob Ross (O’Keeffe of Tarzan the Ape Man and Ator) to return to Vietnam, hunt down the Russian madman (Bo Svenson of The Inglorious Bastards) responsible, rescue his long-lost Amerasian son and destroy anything that gets in his way. Ottaviano Dell’Acqua (Zombie 3), Luciano Pigozzi (Strike Commando), Massimo Vanni (Robowar) and Donald Pleasence co-star in the film restored in 2K from the original negative. Special features include “Italian Masters of War,” an interview with co-director/screenwriter Claudio Fragasso; “All About the Sentiment,” an interview with screenwriter Rossella Drudi; and trailers.
Regime Films releases a documentary on Los Angeles graffiti artists Can’t Be Stopped on Dec. 13, distributed by MVD Entertainment Group on DVD and Blu-ray Disc. Can’t Be Stopped looks inside the legendary Los Angeles graffiti crew C.B.S. and their contributions to the art world, and the part they played in shaping urban culture through the late 1980s and early ’90s. Founded by Frost, Hex, Theory and Demo, Hollywood’s Can’t Be Stopped crew emerged as one of the most influential and recognizable graffiti crews in the United States. Since its inception in the early 1980s, the initials C.B.S. have been at the forefront of evolving graffiti art into a true and viable art form. The kinship that was forged by the crews’ father figure, “Skate,” created a bond of brotherhood that is the focal point of this story. C.B.S. was a surrogate family that became the buffer between these young graffiti artists and the temptations of the Hollywood streets. Skate led these boys from broken homes on a journey to prosperity. Directed by Cody Smith and assembled over a 10-year period using archival footage from the members’ personal archives and vintage photographs, Can’t Be Stopped is narrated by Everlast and features interviews with graffiti icons Kelly “Risk” Graval, Mear, Axis, Anger, Rakaa (Dilated Peoples), and musicians including Jurassic 5’s Chali 2na and Alchemist, and actor David Arquette. Can’t Be Stopped was one of the breakout films at the Sundance Film Festival, and was hailed as one of the best independent documentaries of the year. It was released in a limited theatrical run at various film festivals, earning critical acclaim and winning the Best Documentary Jury Award at the Cinema At The Edge Film Festival.