LaEach week Jacob recaps the weekend box office and the winners and losers in the Midnight Warrior Fantasy Movie League.
WEEK 13 BOX OFFICE BREAKDOWN
We all know awards season is when things get really crazy in Fantasy Movie League. I didn’t realize it was going to get crazy at the ACTUAL awards. Well, we are going to declare a winner today, and hopefully we get it right the first time. Unfortunately, no Warren Beatty to hand out the award, but he did arrive in spirit on Tuesday, and I think I speak for Chris when I say stop reading this article and go watch Rules Don’t Apply. Mostly I think we both want somebody else who can talk with us about the film, or to leave us a voicemail about it…
So, for Week 13, we saw a brain-numbing $33 million dollar opening from Get Out, smashing almost every prediction I could find online. With it’s relatively low $201 bux price tag, it cruised to an easy Best Performer bonus with $117.9K/bux. Best Picture winner nominee La La Land put in what will probably be it’s highest showing at $91.9K/bux, showing that in FML, much like real life, it’s destined to be always a bridesmaid, never a bride.
As a side note, this is easily the best 5 screens of a PC cineplex since I’ve started playing FML. It’s averaging about 5 stars per screen right now, and that’s saying something because I am the stingiest star-giver I can think of. Actually Armond White is technically stingier, but I’m going to ignore everything he has to say about Get Out because he is wrong.
For the last 3 screens we have Denzel Washington’s Fences. There goes that 5 star average. Now it’s about 4.0625/screen by my math. Viola Davis did amazing, and everything else was just a play on screen. Sorry Denzel, maybe next time.
As for the Midnight Warrior league, we saw O PC, Where Art Thou? back about $10 million dollars with one week left to go. She did manage to pull off a perfect cineplex (along with user Do Not Foresake Me Oh My Cineplex), but it just wouldn’t be enough.
School of Rock played 3xGet Out/1x La La Land/1x Lion/1xA Cure For Wellness/2x Fences in what I would call a hedge if it wasn’t exactly what I played and good enough for a 602th place finish overall. He managed to land at 93rd overall, and 1st in the War Starts At Midnight league. Congratulations on the victory Phil!
In response. I have given up on my quest to be the villain to the whole league and will instead focus on our leader. I shall abandon the name CinepLex Luthor, and will henceforth be known as No Vacancy. School of Rock is the rare movie where the hero is actually defeated at the end. If you ask Chris he might say it’s a less itchy Rocky.
In any case, congrats to all participants! For posterity’s sake, here are the top 5 cineplexes for the season!
SPRING SEASON – WEEK 01 PREDICTIONS
Welcome to Spring Season week 1! The league resets, the smell of flowers are in the air, and it’s time for all the worst movies of the year to come out. Sure, you’ll get a few good ones, but you’re also going to get 100 more Rock Dogs. That movie title is singular, but you know the sequel (God forbid) will be called Rock Dogs, and you’re not going to want that in your cineplex either.
First, I’m super late writing this article this week because I was waiting for the final Moonlight theater count. I’m not seeing them yet, but I do see that it’s supposed to get a big increase. It’s out on Redbox and home video now, but I don’t think that even stops you from playing it at that price. You’ll get curious moviegoers seeing this just to know what the Oscars deemed it’s best picture.
As always, I’m going to break down the new releases.
- Logan – Here’s the big one! The old man with the claws is back, for (maybe) the last time. I’m about 20 minutes from seeing this myself. Wait and see what the overnight numbers look like, but I’m still betting on a heavy Get Out anchor. 4,071 theaters is a lot, but Get Out expanded too and my lord does it have some hype.
- The Shack – I saw this trailer before one of the 7 movies I saw in theaters this past week, and I don’t even remember what it’s about. I know that even in 2,888 theaters it’s not going to make what it needs to overcome an $85 bux price tag when you La La Land at half the price still riding an Oscar wave.
- Before I Fall – Is this a movie? I seriously have heard nothing about it. Let me watch the trailer, I’ll be back in a minute. Well, it’s Groundhog Day but dark and high-schooly staring the cute auburn haired girl from room 307. This looks like a standard horror/thriller film that just can’t compete with Get Out. It’s bad timing to be up against that juggernaut.
As I almost always do, I’m avoiding the new releases and going with value plays of holdovers. Play as many Get Out screens as you can, add in 3 screen of the resurgent Moonlight, then bet on whatever else you want. My money is on the man in black and plastic, and I don’t mean 50 Shades Darker.
Think I just handed the envelope to the wrong films? Tell me all about it on Twitter after you follow me @jakerg23.
No Vacancy may have won the giant check, but everyone knows School of Rock got the prize that REALLY matters: an encore. Much like I’m getting Spring Season. There’s noooo waaaay youuuu caaan stop… (power chords)… THE SCHOOL OF ROOOOOCK