Box Office Derby OFFICIAL LAUNCH Giveaway — Predict STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS' Opening Weekend, Win a FANDANGO Gift Card

[Shawn]

Everyone,

 

I'm very excited to announce our official launch of the Box Office Derby prediction game on BoxOfficeTheory.com!

 

Following a successful public test run last week, official scores and standings begin this week. To celebrate the Derby's oft-demanded comeback and the release of a certain long-awaited film, The Box Office Theory is giving away TWO Fandango gift cards at the conclusion of this weekend's first official game!

 

One US$20 digital gift card will be awarded to the player with the most accurate opening weekend box office prediction for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and another $20 digital gift card will be awarded to the first place winner with the best overall weekly score this weekend. (Limit one gift card per player.)

 

The deadline to enter this weekend's game and qualify for the giveaway is 12:00 AM Pacific on Thursday night/Friday morning.

 

You may enter your predictions here. You can also read more about the game and find out how to play and claim prizes.

Please be aware that mobile functionality is still being refined.

 

I offer my sincere thanks to Andrew Little for his generous collaboration in developing our version of the Box Office Derby (and a new main website) over the past year. That appreciation extends equally to the fantastic work of Carlos Uribe, Chris Harvey, and the entire moderating team on the forums, as well as everyone who donates their financial support and other contributions to the forums.

 

Of course, the community wouldn't exist at all without its most important asset: you. We're hopeful that the relationship between the community and the new Derby will strengthen our efforts to begin funding the forums without the need for member donations in the near future.

 

On a personal note, when The Box Office Theory was founded as a simple blog in early 2011, I had no idea it would become a home to movie fans and box office enthusiasts around the world. The contributions of many people have helped make that and the new Derby happen.

 

This launch represents the achievement of a goal that the TBOT team and I have been chasing for over four years. The first time I ever played the original game was during the release of Star Wars: Episode II nearly 14 years ago. When the results were posted, to my shock, I had placed second in the standings that weekend. Thus, a weekly tradition and a relentless (if sometimes humbling) pursuit to reach first place were introduced into my life for the next decade.

 

Forgive the obvious puns, but this week's launch of our Derby for a new generation of box office enthusiasts really does bring things full circle. We hope you enjoy it!

 

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy Star Wars Week from myself and the entire Box Office Theory team.

 

Cheers,
Shawn

[Avatree]

18 hours ago, Shawn said:

We're hopeful that the relationship between the community and the new Derby will strengthen our efforts to begin funding the forums without the need for member donations in the near future.

What does this mean?

[AndyLL]

2 hours ago, Salacious Tree Crumb said:

What does this mean?

 

I assume Shawn hopes that the ad revenue from the new website ( including the Derby ) will help lesson the need for us to have premium accounts.

 

I don't know if you were here then but it wasn't that long ago that the forums were hosted by BoxOffice.com and we had no need for other funding.

[Avatree]

1 minute ago, Darth AndyLL said:

 

I assume Shawn hopes that the ad revenue from the new website ( including the Derby ) will help lesson the need for us to have premium accounts.

 

I don't know if you were here then but it wasn't that long ago that the forums were hosted by BoxOffice.com and we had no need for other funding.

Is the ad revenue for Derby working differently than from the ad revenue from the main site? 

[AndyLL]

10 minutes ago, Salacious Tree Crumb said:

Is the ad revenue for Derby working differently than from the ad revenue from the main site? 

 

They work the same... but they have a different audience.

 

Forums typically have poor results for ADs.

 

The hope is that the new main site and Derby will bring in a lot of non-forum users.

[Avatree]

10 minutes ago, Darth AndyLL said:

 

They work the same... but they have a different audience.

 

Forums typically have poor results for ADs.

 

The hope is that the new main site and Derby will bring in a lot of non-forum users.

Oh okay, I didn't know you guys were targeting non-members and stuff that's cool. ty.

[AndyLL]

11 minutes ago, Salacious Tree Crumb said:

Oh okay, I didn't know you guys were targeting non-members and stuff that's cool. ty.

 

We hope the new website and Derby brings in a lot of new members. 

[AndyLL]

And we have a winner!