BadAtGender

I think most movies that have ever been released in April don't generate a lot of presales compared to movies as a whole. So the films that are topping the list are the biggest openers of the month. Really, all that this indicates is that F&F7 is going to be bigger than CA2. Which was pretty much a given already. It'd be useful if we had better comparative data for presales, but that's not likely to happen. So we're left with the vague knowledge that some films are bigger than others, but not by how much, nor with any working knowledge of how much of the opening total that accounts for with a given film, or even how much presales are expanding over time. Given how much of the presale data is incomplete and vague, there isn't a lot of useful insight to glean from it. What we are given smacks more of spin than anything else. It's not wrong, but it's also not especially helpful

Neither do F&F films, right?

Extended Simon Pegg interview discussing Star Trek III.

What was the previous record holder? Cap2?

Actually, I think the last spot will go to The Prophet, assuming it gets a qualifying release.

It'll likely be Joseph Trapanese if Daft Punk doesn't return. He worked with them on Legacy and did the score for Uprising, so he can emulate them well enough.

Not gonna lie. Kristen Bell was one of the primary reasons I had any excitement for Frozen going into it.

Sure. I can throw it on the stack somewhere.

Maybe the trailer will pull me around, though. Spielberg is usually pretty damn entertaining.

I dunno. I'm getting less and less tolerant of geek nostalgia and this doesn't sound like it's anything more than that.

Hmm... I'm gathering opinions and the response is mixed.

I haven't read the book. Is it worth the bother?

Well, get on that. It's one of the all time greats.

Have you watched Network yet, Jandrew?

I played for shit last year, but sure, what the hell. DOM Top 15 1. Avengers: Age of Ultron 518m 2. Minions 292m 3. Inside Out 276m 4. Jurassic World 231m 5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 206m 6. Mad Max Fury Road 183m 7. Ant-Man 176m 8. Spy 157m 9. Fantastic Four 149m 10. Pixels 145m 11. Terminator Geneisys 141m 12. Tomorrowland 139m 13. Ted 2 132m 14. Pitch Perfect 2 128m 15. San Andreas 104m WW Top 10 1. Avengers: Age of Ultron 1570m 2. Jurassic World 942m 3. Minions 893m 4. Inside Out 801m 5. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 789m 6. Terminator Genisys 602m 7. Ant-Man 567m 8. Mad Max Fury Road 518m 9. Fantastic Four 493m 10. San Andreas 401m WW Top 5 Weekends 1. Avengers: Age of Ultron 385m 2. Jurassic World 307m 3. Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation 157m 4. Minions 133m 5. Inside Out 124m DOM Top 5 Weekends 1. Avengers: Age of Ultron 205m 2. Jurassic World 89m 3. Minions 74m 4. Inside Out 66m 5. Pixels 59m DOM Lowest 5 1. The Outskirts 2. Dope 3. Aloha 4. Trainwreck 5. Southpaw HERE ARE YOUR FIRST PRE SEASON BONUS QUESTIONS THAT MUST BE ANSWERED BEFORE THURSDAY APRIL 30TH AT 6PM. THESE WILL BE WORTH A TOTAL OF 15,000 POSSIBLE POINTS. 15,000 IF CORRECT -5000 IF INCORRECT 3000 FOR TELLING ME THAT YOU ARE ABSTAINING Tell me, of these five films, which one will be the lowest grossing of the summer. Only these five films can you choose from. 1) Trainwreck 2) Southpaw 3) She's Funny That Way 4) Aloha 5) The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ABSTAIN FOR AN ADDITIONAL 10,000 Tell me, within 5 million dollars, what its gross will be. Anyone who calls this within 5 million dollars (note you MUST CALL THE CORRECT FILM TO QUALIFY FOR THE 5000 BONUS PTS) whether it is over or under the total, will get the 10,000 points. Second Bonus Question: Tell me which of these will be the highest grossing film of the summer: Only these five films. 1) Masterminds 2) Fantastic Four 3) Terminator Genisys 4) Magic Mike XXL ABSTAIN For 10,000 POSSIBLE bonus points, tell me, within 5 million dollars, what its gross will be. Anyone who calls this within 5 million dollars (note you MUST CALL THE CORRECT FILM TO QUALIFY FOR THE 10,000 BONUS PTS) whether it is over or under the total, will get the 10,000 points. Third Bonus Question: Tell me, of these five films, which will be the highest grossing INTERNAtIONALLY (NOT WW, ONLY INTERNATIONALLY....ALL FIGURES ACCORDING TO BOXOFFICEMOJO.COM)? 1) Terminator Genisys 2) San Andreas 3) Mission Impossible Rogue Nation 4) Ted 2 5) Mad Max ABSTAIN For 15,000 bonus points, call the correct film within 25 mill. TRIPLE BONUS Here are your 16 bonus questions that have to be answered before the start date. Question 1: Will more than 3 films gross at least 110 million dollars Opening weekend domestically (3 day weekends count only) Answer it correctly: 15,000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 8000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 8000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 2: Will more than two films gross at least 50 million dollars on opening day? Answer it correctly: 15,000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 8000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 8000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 3: Will any film this summer have a worldwide weekend of more than 280 million? (THIS WILL INCLUDE ANY 5 DAY WEEKENDS. WHATEVER IS REPORTED FOR THE ACTUALS ON MONDAY EVENING WILL BE THE NUMBER WE GO BY). But the weekend has to fall within the summer game dates. Answer it correctly: 15,000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 8000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 8000 points) 5000 points. ABSTAIN Question 4: Will any film make more than 51.5 million this summer in Australia? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 8000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 8000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 5: Will at least two films make more than 55 million dollars this summer in the UK box office? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 8000 points) 5000 points. ABSTAIN Question 6: Will any film besides Avengers make more than 150 million in CHINA this summer? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 7: Will at least 2 films make at least a billion mill WW this summer? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 8: Will at least 5 films, listed as a comedy (could be sci-fi comedy...horror comedy...must have comedy listed somewhere in the genre ) by Box Office Mojo, make more than 120 million dollars this summer? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 9: Will at least 3 action films released after May, have a WW gross of more than 500 million? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 10: Which combination of films will make more money domestically? 1) Terminator, Spy, Jurassic World 2) Entourage, Spy, Hot Pursuit, Poltergeist 3) Minions, Insidious 3, Self/Less, Straight Oughtta Compton 4) Avengers first ten days, Mafgic Mike XXL Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 5000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 11: Will any two films make more than 40 million in Russia this summer? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 12: Will the top two films combined make more this summer than the next 5 films combined (domestic only)? So to avoid any confusion like we have last summer, the question reads like this.... top 2 spots add up to more than slots 3-7. Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 13: Will any of the top 7 grossing sequels domestically this summer have a second weekend drop of less than 47.5%? Answer it correctly: 15000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 10,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 10,000 points) 3000 points. ABSTAIN Question 14: Will Avengers, Minions or Jurassic World have a Saturday increase minus the preview number? So take out the Thursday number and you get the true Friday number. You guys know the drill. Answer it correctly: 25,000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 15,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 15,000 points) 5000 points. ABSTAIN Question 15: Will Minions outgross Avengers in at least two of these regions this summer? France Netherlands Venezuela Hungary Answer it correctly: 25,000 points Answer it incorrectly: lose 15,000 points Choose not to answer ( and you must state that you are not answering..failing to do so will automatically result in a loss of 15,000 points) 5000 points. ABSTAIN PLAYERS: There may be more preseason bonus questions added before the start of the game. It is doubtful, but I hold the right to add a question if it seems right. The Ron Jeremy of all bonus questions This is a four parter: 1) Will Avengers make at least 600 million domestically? 2) Will Avengers make more than a billion internationally? 3) Will Avengers do at least 25 million for previews 4)) Will Avengers make at least 1.8 billion WW? Scoring: All questions you answer correctly are worth 7000 points. You can go for as many as you like. Here is the catch: Every answer you call incorrectly you lose 10,000 points. There are no points for abstaining, with one caveat down below. *** Even more bonus and more treachery: If you go 4/4 you get a 28,000 point bonus. So this means you will get a total of 56,000 points for this question (7000X4 plus 28,000 point bonus) However, if you go for all 4 you must get all four correct. If you get even one incorrect, you will lose 20,000 points. So what this means is, if you go for all four and even if you get 3/4 correct, not only will you NOT get the 11,000 but you will lose a full 15,000 points. This question is worth a lot of points for those ballsy enough to go for all 4, but it will kick your ass if you get too cocky. PLEASE READ THIS ONE CAREFULLY AND UNDERSTAND IT FULLY. IF YOU DO NOT, THEN ASK ME. ONCE THE GAME STARTS, CLAIMING YOU DIDN'T READ IT RIGHT WILL NOT BE AN EXCUSE. THE BOTTOM LINE IS IF YOU GO FOR ALL FOUR QUESTIONS, YOU ABSOLUTELY MUST GET ALL FOUR RIGHT IN ORDER TO GET POINTS. Remember, you don't have to answer any of them. Or you can answer as little as you want. It's totally up to you. You can choose to go for as many or as little as you want. ***CAVEAT*** If you choose to abstain from all 4, you will get 5000 for doing so. You must tell me if you are abstaining. ABSTAIN NEW QUESTION: This is a four part question. Again, you have choices. Answer any part of the question. Each answer you get correct you will receive 7000 points. Each answer you get wrong, you will lose 7000 points. If you go for all four parts of the question, you must get all four parts correct. If you get even one wrong after going for it all, you will lose 7,000 points. You can go for all of it, none of it and some of it. Choice is yours. 17) Note*** Jurassic World does not qualify for this question A) Will any film listed as a horror OR thriller film by boxofficemojo.com gross more than 100 million dollars this summer? Will any film listed as a horror OR thriller film by boxofficemojo.com open to more than 35 mill? C) Will any film listed as a horror OR thriller film by boxofficemojo.com have a second weekend drop of less than 47%? D) Will any film listed as a horror OR thriller film by boxofficemojo.com have an opening day of more than 13 mill? Get any question right: 7000 Get any question wrong: -7000 Abstain from all four questions: 5000 Go for all four, and get all four correct not only will you get the 28,000, you get a bonus of 28,000. But you must go for all four to qualify for the bonus ABSTAIN Double Secret Probation Bonus Question Very simple, but very dangerous. I'll give you a number, you tell me if Avengers will gross more or less than that number in said markets. 1) Russia: 42M MORE 2) Germany: 31.5M LESS 3) Portugal: 3M LESS 4) China: 200M MORE If you go for this question, you must get all 4 correct. This is not a partial question. If you get at least 3 of the 4 correct, you will get 50,000. If you choose to abstain from this question, you will lose 15,000 points. If you go for the question and you do not get at least 3 or the 4 correct, you will lose 30,000 points. Choose Wisely. The "Hey maybe you haven't been keeping up on current events but we just got our asses kicked pal" question of debauchery. Will Jurassic World and F7 combine to make more than Avengers in these markets? 1) Japan YES 2) United Kingdom YES 3) Columbia YES 4) Mexico YES Each answer will be yes or no. Nothing more. You must get at least three correct. Get three correct, get a bonus of 50,000, don't get three correct, lose 25,000, abstain, lose 10,000. As promised, here are your additional 20 25 questions for you. I love this part of the game. For every question you get right, you receive 7000 points. For every question you get wrong, you lose 2000 points. These are mandatory questions, there is no abstaining. Any player who is in this game, who does not answer these questions, loses 50,000 points. Do not forget to do these. Remember grosses count from May 1st until September 7th. All grosses come from boxofficemojo.com, all genres are determined by boxofficemojo.com.....so if I ask you a question about a romance, if that film is listed as a sci-fi/romance, then it will qualify as a romance. 1) How many films will gross at least 100 million dollars this summer? You have a cushion of 1 film. So if you are off by 1, you still get full points. FIFTEEN 2) How many films will make a billion dollars this summer? No cushion ONE 3) What will the domestic total gross be for the top 3 horror films of the summer. II don't want to see anything but a number in your answer. Do not list the films. Cushion of 50 mill 200m 4) How many films will gross at least 40 million opening day? No cushion ONE 5) How many films will make at least 500 million internationally? cushion of 1. FOUR 6) Will Terminator Genisys and Pitch Perfect 2 and Insidious 3 combine to gross more than F7 domestically? YES 7) Will Ted 2 make more than Ted? NO 8) Will Tele love Mad Max and will baumer love Jurassic World? You must answer both. This is an honour system question. I will tell you right now that I think i will love Jurassic World. YES. YES. 9) Will any film released in August gross 100 mill before the end of the game? YES 10) Will Self/Less make more than 40 million? NO 11) How many films will make at least 750 million WW? 1 cushion FOUR 12) How many films will make at least 30 million OD? 1 cushion THREE 13) Will Magic Mike XXL have a bigger opening day than Terminator genisys? YES 14) Will Pan be one of the top 7 grossing films of the summer domestically? NO 15) Will Ant Man gross at least 500 mill WW? YES 16) Will any film gross 250 million in China? YES 17) Will any film have a WW weekend of more than 300 million (Avengers will only count from the time the game starts) YES 18) Will Mission Impossible gross more than 200 million? YES 19) Will Vacation gross more than 70 million? NO 20) How many films will gross at least 305 million this summer? ONE 21) Will Avengers gross more than the first one? NO 22) Will any film besides Avengers make 25 million in Spain? NO 23) Will any film besides Avengers make 65 million in the UK? NO 24) Will Entourage make 100 mill or more? NO 25) Will Avengers drop less than 55% second weekend? NO

That... isn't true. At least it's not entirely true. Critical opinion, and the ability to critique, isn't just whether you think something is good or bad, it's also your ability to analyze various factors involved in the construction of the thing and to break it down in the context of those contributing factors. Actual critics are experts in film studies, and that will show. The likes of Roger Ebert or Owen Glieberman definitely do have a more nuanced and understanding opinion than most people will bring to viewing a movie. Now, that doesn't discount the fact that opinions are still subjective, and so whether an expert critic thinks a film is good or not doesn't mean any given person will feel the same. And that's perfectly fine. The problem with Rotten Tomatoes is twofold. First, the attempt to break down subjective opinions to a simple number is going to strip out pretty much all nuance. This would be true no matter how the score is determined. Second, RT makes no distinction between expert critics and run-of-the-mill bloggers beyond the top critic distinction. So any understanding of expert opinion is removed. (There are some interesting historical reasons for this.) So, all in all, any meta-analysis like RT or Metacritic is going to be fraught with problems because it's an attempt to apply measured objectivity to an ultimately subjective enterprise. It doesn't mean it's without use, but there's grains of salt to apply. It's a little better than CinemaScore, but don't take them as absolutes. Best suggestion: find a small number of critics you personally respect (not necessarily agree with, but understand) and just follow them. Once you understand their nuance, you'll get a better read on how their opinions will be in relation to yours.

The box office seasons: Winter (Jan-Feb) Spring (Mar-Apr) Summer (May-Aug) Fall (Sept-Oct) Holiday (Nov-Dec) There's a bit more fine details about that, since it will depend on which date particular Fridays fall on, and the placement of New Year's Day can shift which early January weekends are "Winter" rather than "Holiday". But it's pretty normal to assume that Summer starts the first full weekend of May and runs through Labor Day Weekend.

Isn't that basically the case for all Lionsgate films? The studio isn't set up for foreign distro in most cases, so they have to presell all the rights? I know that'd mean they can't reap the rewards of a foreign breakout, but it also probably means that they pretty much can't lose money on their films, either. It's efficient.

I watched Knights of Badassdom earlier today. Dinklage was easily the most badass and engaging part of the film and he died halfway through. Hollywood needs to get its shit together and offer him better parts.

I enjoyed Meleficent, but Cinderella is SO MUCH BETTER.

My one hope for this is that it succeeds well enough to convince Disney that there is a market for videogame films so we get a sequel to Wreck-It Ralph.

It's highly unlikely to get that high in Japan, but getting to at least $400m in the US is possible.

Why is everything a competition?

What? While Damon does have a number of large hits, outside of the Bourne series, he's usually part of an ensemble and often isn't the ostensible lead (True Grit, Ocean series, etc.) Bullock has bigger hits than any of Damon's (Gravity, The Blind Side), and most of her other big hits have her as the lead or co-lead. The Proposal didn't get to 163m because of Ryan Reynolds. Damon's a movie star, yes, but Bullock is a huge star. There's a reason she's one of the highest paid actresses ever.