EDIT 2: And that is way past time! No more predictions! Come on back here Monday or Tuesday for the results!
Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the sport of Kings (and Queens, gender inclusive here, people)! A contest for the ages! A competition with prizes of absolutely no worth! Welcome to the Screened.com Box Office Winners League!
Yep, we’re back by popular demand! It’s the New And Rather Much The Same Screened.com Box Office Winners League! With a new Master of Ceremonies in the form of . But, I already explained all of this in a post the other day, go read that. No, we’re here for business! Make all of your Game Of Thrones jokes because Winter has come and, with it, a brand new season!
Whether you’re a newbie, a lurker or a returning player from last season, make sure you familiarise yourself with the rules and then dive into this first, not-really-eventful week!
The Rules
The rules of the Screened Box Office Winners League are very simple. Each week; four of the new releases are posted in this here thread, all of the wide releases and at least one of the limited releases. Then, you simply predict/guess/throw-a-dart-at-a-board how much each of the films will make. To help make your decision, each of the films will come with all manner of extra information (age ratings, stars, Rotten Tomatoes scores etc.) You can heed it, or just guess blindly. Your choice.
When you do post your predictions, make sure that they’re in a table like so.
| Film | Prediction |
|---|---|
| The Dark Knight Rises | $168 million |
| etc. | etc. |
| Total For The Weekend | Combined Predictions |
And, finally, your predictions must be in before Friday at (the one leading into Saturday morning) or they will not be counted. Making that very clear.
The Scoring
On Monday/Tuesday, the results will be posted with two sets of scoring systems.
Wide Releases: This is very simple. If you’re closest to the total, you get 1 point. If you get it dead on (as in, you guess all digits to the first decimal point exactly e.g.: $4.3 million) then you get two points. If two or more people have the same difference with their predictions, they all get the points.
Limited Releases & Total: Just like in the Wide Releases, if you’re closest, you get 1 point. But; if you’re within $500 either side of the posted total, you get 2 points. And if you’re lucky enough to get it precisely dead on, right down to that last dollar, then it’s your lucky day because you just bagged yourself 3 points! Again, if two or more people get have the same difference with their predictions, they all get the points.
Whoever has the most points at the end of the season wins… something. Got it? Good!
Then let’s get going! Bring in Week 1!
Week 1
The Words
Wide or Limited?: Wide Release (2,700 theatres)
Rating: PG-13 (Brief Strong Language and Smoking)
Directors: Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Olivia Wilde, Dennis Quaid
Genre: Romantic Drama
Synopsis: “A writer at the peak of success discovers the price he must pay for stealing another man's work.
Starring Bradley Cooper, Oscar-winner Jeremy Irons, Dennis Quaid, Olivia Wilde and Zoe Saldana, the layered romantic drama The Words follows young writer Rory Jansen who finally achieves long sought after literary success after publishing the next great American novel. There's only one catch - he didn't write it. As the past comes back to haunt him and his literary star continues to rise, Jansen is forced to confront the steep price that must be paid for stealing another man's work, and for placing ambition and success above life's most fundamental three words.” (Apple)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 19% (Rotten) from 27 reviews (Thursday 6th September)
3D?: No
Trailer:
Other Notes: Bradley Cooper’s last three openings: Hit and Run, $4.5 million (2012); The Hangover Part II, $85.9 million (2011); Limitless, $18.9 million (2011). It is writers Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal directorial debut.
The Cold Light Of Day
Wide or Limited?: Wide-ish Release (1,500 theatres)
Rating: PG-13 (Intense Sequences of Violence and Action, and Language)
Director: Mabrouk El Mechri
Starring: Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver
Genre: Thriller
Synopsis: “Story of Will Shaw, a young Wall Street trader whose family is kidnapped on a vacation to . He's left with only hours to find them, uncover a government conspiracy and the connection between their disappearance and his father's secrets.”
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 8% (Rotten) from 12 reviews (Thursday 6th September)
3D?: No
Trailer:
Other Notes: Henry Cavill’s last opening was Immortals (2011) with $32.2 million. Willis and Weaver are too Wild Card-y to use for previous openings. Director is perhaps best known for JCVD (2008). First released in the back in April. Has made $13.1 million internationally against a $35 million budget.
Bachelorette
Wide or Limited?: Limited Release (40 Theatres)
Rating: R (Sexual Content, Pervasive Language and Drug Use)
Director: Leslye Headland
Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Lizzy Caplan, Isla Fisher
Genre: Comedy
Synopsis: “On the night before an old friend's wedding, three frisky bridesmaids go searching for a little fun but find much more than they bargained for. With lovely Becky (Rebel Wilson) set to marry her handsome sweetheart, Dale (Hayes MacArthur), the remaining members of her high school clique reunite for one last bachelorette bacchanal in the Big Apple. Regan (Kirsten Dunst) is an overachieving, ueber-Maid of Honor who's secretly smarting over the fact that she's not the first to marry, while Gena (Lizzy Caplan) is a whip-smart sarcastic who's actually a closet romantic, and Katie (Isla Fisher) is a ditzy beauty who loves the good life. But when Becky insists on keeping the bachelorette party tame, the women proceed with an after-hours celebration of their own.” (Apple)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 54% (Rotten) from 28 reviews (Thursday 6th September)
3D?: No
Trailer:
Other Notes: Kirsten Dunst’s last three openings: Melancholia, $257,174 (Limited Release, 2011); All Good Things, $37,172 (Limited Release, 2010); How To Lose Friends And Alienate People, $1,430,294 (2008). Also stars Rebel Wilson (Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect, What To Expect When You’re Expecting), James Marsden and Adam Scott (Party Down, Parks and Recreation). Premiered at Sundance. Has been streaming on VOD for a while and even reached no. 1 on the iTunes store. Does Lizzy Caplan’s face on the poster look terrifying or what?
Toys In The Attic (better known as In The Attic: Who Has A Birthday Today?)
Wide or Limited?: Limited Release (25 Theatres)
Rating: PG (Mild Peril and Brief Smoking)
Director: Jiri Barta (film), Vivian Shilling (dubbing)
Starring: Whitaker, Joan Cusack, Cary Ewels (voices)
Genre: Stop-Motion Animation
Synopsis: “Set in a magical world of toys and knick-knacks stored in the attic of a home in . The setting for the film was inspired by the cultural and political contrast of the Cold War era and its impact on director Jiri Barta and the . The world of the attic is divided into the land of happy toys in the West and the in the East. The despotic Head of State rules over the with a band of sinister minions, insects and rotted vegetables. When the lovely Buttercup (Vivian Schilling) is kidnapped and held prisoner by The Head (Jiri Labus, with voice by Douglas Urbanski), it is up to her friends - a teddy bear (Forest Whitaker), a mechanical mouse (Joan Cusack) and marionette puppet (Cary Elwes) to cross the international boundary and attempt their daring rescue.” (Facebook)
Rotten Tomatoes Score: No Score Yet from 4 reviews (3 fresh, 1 rotten) (Thursday 6th September)
3D?: No
Trailer:
Other Notes: This film is a 2009 Czech production that has been doing the rounds of various festivals (in subtitled form) for years. Has only just gotten an American dub, directed by Shilling, that premiered back in March at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. According to Box Office Mojo, stop motion has never typically done well (however, all of the movies listed by the site were Wide Releases, not Limited).
Those are Week 1’s movies, folks! Leave your predictions on this here thread before on Friday (leading into Saturday morning) and be sure to check back on Monday or Tuesday for the results!
