Query date comparison with custom field

I want to show the custom posts which date in the custom field (‘wpcf-vanaf-in-het-theater’) is before today.

I can’t find out what I’m doing wrong. Everything looks ok, but when I change compare => from “<” to “>” there’s no post showing up.

This is my code:

<?php

$today = date('Ymd');

$args = array(
  	'post_type' => 'films',
  	'post_status' => 'publish',
  	'posts_per_page' => -1,
	'meta_query' => array(
	    array(
	        'key' => 'wpcf-vanaf-in-het-theater',
	        'compare' => '<',
	        'value' => $today,
	    )
	)
);

$my_query = new WP_Query($args);

if( $my_query->have_posts())
	while ($my_query->have_posts()) : $my_query->the_post(); ?>
		<p><a href="<?php the_permalink() ?>" title="Permanent Link to <?php the_title_attribute(); ?>"><?php the_title(); ?></a></p>
		<?php
		$vanafTheater = types_render_field("vanaf-in-het-theater", array("style"=>"text", "format"=>"Ymd"));
		echo $vanafTheater . " vs ";
		echo $today . "<br />";
  	endwhile;
	wp_reset_query();  // Restore global post data stomped by the_post().
?>

Please help me!