This is correct - we predicted its domestic box office gross and it's going to have one either way. The only way it gets disqualified is if doesn't get released this year.

Which it isn't. Sony decided to cancel the release.

This is ridiculous. It should do really well on DVD and bluray then. On Demand should be insane. If this had gotten the original planned release, I could have seen 150 million total with all the hysteria.

It's probably never going to come out now.

Holy cow - you're right. Didn't think it would come to that.

Yep, with that news, it's out of the game now.

Sony isn't releasing it on DVD or Demand either.

Has something like this happened before? Holy shit I'm shocked.

Obviously you're not counting it anymore... but this is bullshit.

We didn't predict it as a limited release. We predicted it as a major studio release. If only 40 theaters ever showed it, and it ended up making $2.5 mil total, you'd still count that?

That's fucking idiotic.

And that's fucking uncalled for.

If you had a bad day, don't take it out on other people.

I didn't have a bad day. That would be an idiotic decision.

Ha - this is all just discussion since it's already eliminated.

The only thing we don't predict in this game is whether the "predicted totals" movies will be released or not. We do, however, predict a movie's appeal, reception, and availability.

A movie's domestic box office gross is inherently unpredictable - obviously some more than others. We have some limited movies that end up getting a wider release than expected, so this scenario could have been exactly the reverse. Though no one saw it coming to this extent, its content limited its theatrical availability. If it did get released in a few theaters, that does represent its domestic box office gross (with its availability strongly affecting it in a negative way).

It's not a fun decision, so I'm really glad it didn't come to that point.

I 100% disagree.

But whatever. It's your game.

I guess the answer to question no. 10 will end up being Selma. Or maybe American Sniper or The Imitation Game.

I'm honestly surprised No Good Deed has held it for this long. This one's definitely still up in the air.

MGKC, if I'm not on top of the leaderboard by next Sunday your game will suffer a 9/11 and I will release those emails between you and Chippy where you make fun of Magnus' movie taste and call Dr. Lecter a spoiled bratwurst. You have been warned.

I'm not ashamed of those emails.

Current Ranking for December 21st, 2014:



Projected Totals:
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - $65.2 million
Annabelle - $84.4 million
Annie - $80 million
Big Hero 6 - $216 million
The Boxtrolls - $50.55 million
Dracula Untold - $55.992 million
Dumb and Dumb To - $86.5 million
The Equalizer - $101.2 million
Exodus - $71 million
Fury - $86.1 million
Gone Girl - $167 million
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies - $250 million
Horrible Bosses 2 - $55.2 million
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I - $335 million
Interstellar - $180 million
The Judge - $47.1 million
The Maze Runner - $102.4 million
Night at the Museum: The Secret Tomb - $90 million
Ouija - $51.1 million
The Penguins of Madagascar - $82 million
This is Where I Leave You - $34.35 million
A Walk Among the Tombstones - $26.307 million

Current Top 5 Ranking:
1. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I - $289.2 million
2. Big Hero 6 - $190.4 million
3. Interstellar - $171.4 million
4. Gone Girl - $165.2 million
5. The Maze Runner - $101.7 million

Current Box Office Questions:
#1: Which sequel will have the biggest percentage increase from its previous movie (or the lowest decrease the least if none improve) - The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, Horrible Bosses 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, Night at the Museum: The Secret Tomb, or The Penguins of Madagascar? The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
#2: How many films will gross over $200 million in total? One (The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I)
#3: Which of these potential breakout movies will gross more in total - Annie, Exodus: Gods and Kings, Into the Woods, Fury, or Gone Girl? Gone Girl
#4: Which higher profile comedy will gross more in total - Dumb and Dumber To or Horrible Bosses 2? Dumb and Dumber To
#5: Which adult film will gross more in total - The Equalizer, The Judge, or A Walk Among Tombstones? The Equalizer
#6: Which higher-profile family film combination will gross more in total - The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part I, the sum of Into the Woods and Big Hero 6, or the sum of Night at the Museum: The Secret Tomb and The Penguins of Madagascar? The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I
#7: Which lower-profile family film combination will gross more in total - Paddington or the sum of Alexander and the Terrible (...) Day and The Boxtrolls? VOIDED
#8: Which will gross more - the opening 3-day weekend of Interstellar or the opening 5-day gross of The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies? VOIDED
#9: How many films will gross over $100 million in total? Six (Gone Girl, Big Hero 6, The Maze Runner, Interstellar, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part I, The Equalizer)
#10: What will be the highest grossing film not predicted in the total gross section (including the backup films)? No Good Deed

The Hobbit will do more than that.

I have a narrow window here, but if Into The Woods breaks out and makes between 170-180M, and Unbroken doesn't beat it, I'll get the top 5 right. It's a long shot, but it's possible.

Oh, wow - you're right! I think you have a decent shot.

The point difference this round is very close all around.

My hopes are sinking with the lower than expected theater count for Into The Woods, and because it currently ranks behind Unbroken on movietickets.com.

Still not impossible though.

Nothing is impossible! Believe!

The Interview is in play again.

Looks like the video-on-demand is going to be a big portion of its release, so I am going to make the call that we'll leave it out of the game (since this will affect demand).

This scenario does bring up an important issue to address for future games as this release style may gain prevalence in years to come. Since we are predicting theatrical gross only, I am most likely going to disqualify any future movies that change their release options after we've already predicted.