The Bus

The 2012 Oscar Lackluster Blockbuster Theatrical Challenge

I really like the DVD Challenges on this site, but I wanted to have something that was for people that were more likely to go to the theater. And just seeing the most movies is a bit too straightforward...

So, why not have a running game throughout the year?

There's three parts to it: Oscar, Lackluster, and Blockbuster.

Let's start with Blockbuster.

For each month of the 2012 calendar year, you pick one Blockbuster movie. (Sadly since we're starting this halfway through, there's only six picks left). Each Blockbuster pick must be made no later than the end of the previous month. (For July only, let's make the deadline July 2, to give people a bit more time).

You are trying to pick the movie that makes the most money that month. So, for July, the question is, during the July calendar month, which movie will make more money? You might say The Dark Knight Rises but we're only counting money it makes through July 31. So The Amazing Spider-man might be a better pick. Avengers would be a terrible pick, because while it has made a lot of money already, we are only counting how much money it makes in July.

And when I say "money" I mean US box office proceeds as reported by BoxOfficeMojo.

If you make the right pick, you get points.

However, you also get points if you saw that movie in the theater.

And, in a nod to the Sheep games, if this is also the most popular movie among all the players, you also get points. (If you pick it, but didn't see it in the theater, you don't get this bonus).

On to the (much simpler) part two: Lackluster

Same idea as before. You make your picks by the end of the previous month. This time, you are trying to guess the worst-reviewed movie that will be released that month. Feel free to research early reviews, IMDB, blogs, etc. If a movie isn't released until July, but there's already reviews on it in June, then it's still a "July" movie.

Ratings will be done via Metacritic (since it's more selective than Rotten Tomatoes).

There's also a bonus if you see the worst movie in theaters. However, in the spirit of not making people see terrible movies, the bonus goes to the worst-reviewed movie seen by a player. The worst-reviewed films of June 2012 are Piranha 3DD (24) and That's My Boy (30). If none of the players saw Piranha 3DD, then those who saw That's My Boy get points (or Chernobyl Diaries, or any movie further up the list).

And finally, part three: Oscar.

Here, the idea is that out of any films you see in theaters, you want to accurately select those that you think get nominated for any Oscar. The game ends the weekend before nominations are released. You get points for each "major" nomination and "minor" nomination, and bonus points for any Best Picture candidates.

You can "ballot" as many films as you want, but there will be penalties for any films you saw and "balloted" that didn't get any nominations. (This penalty increases exponentially, so simply seeing and balloting every movie is going to backfire).

As in Blockbuster, there will be a "Sheep" bonus for most "balloted" film, as well as multipliers you can apply to some films.

That's the basics.

Scoring

I don't have the specific scoring system yet, but will work on it over the weekend, and will update these posts as needed. The Oscar portion of this won't matter until the end of the year anyway.

Fine Print

Some of the fine print:

A "released" movie means a feature-length film released in the US that plays 600 or more theaters (not screens). If a film is released in 5 theaters, then expands to 1,000, this is considered a "released" film.

The "release date" is always when the film is officially released to commercial theaters. Premieres, film festivals, etc. do not count. It does not matter when a film expands.

For any pick posts, I won't consider any edited posts changed after the deadline.

The Bus

Placeholder for additional rules, etc. Please feel free to PM suggestions for changes to the game. If you have my email, that's even better (as I don't have many PM slots).

References

See which films are being released in 2012
http://www.boxofficemojo.com
http://www.metacritic.com/browse/mov...view=condensed

The Bus

Placeholder for rankings / scores.

The Bus

My picks for July:

Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster: Hit and Run

Jules Winfield

I've never done this before. But I can pick The Dark Knight Rises also, right?

If so:
Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster:Step Up Revolution

And then I just report back here if I see any movie I think might be Oscar nominated from July and go hey, this movie's gonna be nominated and I saw it? Just trying to make things clear.

Goat3001

This sounds like fun. Count me in.

July:

Blockbuster: Spider-Man
Lackluster: Step Up: Revolution

The Bus

It's two picks per month, plus Oscar picks at the end of the year. The only difference is, if you happen to see the movie in theaters, you get a bonus.

<hr>

Duplicate picks are, of course, allowed.

starman9000

July:

Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster: Step Up: Revolution

outcastja

July
Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster: Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D

islandclaws

July

Blockbuster:
Lackluster:
Oscar:

Matthew Chmiel

July

Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster: The Watch
Oscar: Ruby Sparks

MrSmearkase

July

Blockbuster:
Lackluster:
Oscar:

Shannon Nutt

How do we determine if someone's seen a movie in the theater or not? And how/where do we "report" it for terms of this contest?

JULY:
Blockbuster: The Amazing Spider-Man
Lackluster: The Watch

The Bus

With something like this, people will always drop off, so I don't think nine people is enough.

Let's can it, and maybe I'll have a Sheep game this year instead.

What I think I will do, however, is have these "prediction" threads at the end of each month. Would be a simpler way to do it.

FantasticVSDoom

July:

Blockbuster: The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster: Step Up: Revolution

starman9000

Tied for 1st!

Darkgod

Blockbuster: Amazing Spiderman
Lackluster: Step Up: Revoloution
Oscar: The Dark Knight Rises

Tarantino

Blockbuster - The Dark Knight Rises
Lackluster - Step Up 3D
Oscar - The Dark Knight Rises

Groucho

July 2012:

Blockbuster: The Amazing Spider-Man
Lackluster: The Watch
Oscar: The Dark Knight Rises

Shannon Nutt

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought the rules for the "Oscar" part were that you had to see the movie first?

Groucho

I'm pretty sure I didn't read the rules carefully.

I like how even Bus's non-sheep games have us issuing challenges.

starman9000

Also, you guys can't pick July in July and the game has been called anyway.

Shannon Nutt

I want to change my Lackluster pick to "this thread."

The Bus