Weekend Box Office Predictions Game: A Scrooge and Goats

Whereas last weekend saw Michael Jackson's This Is It as the lone new wide release film, this upcoming weekend sees four new films attempt to dethrone the King of Pop. The likely candidate to win is Robert Zemeckis' A Christmas with 3D support and the highest screen count. Other newcomers include The Box with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden, The Fourth Kind with Milla Jovovich, and The Men Who Stare at Goats with George Clooney, Jeff Bridges and Ewan McGregor looking for laughs.

The objective of the Weekend Box Office game is twofold. You will predict the weekend box office gross for five films and try to be the closest of everyone playing. If you are, then you are hoping the cumulative score of all the players is better on 3 or more movies than the Prophet. If so, a DVD or Blu-ray Disc prize will be awarded. Weekly and cumulative scoring charts are available on the main game page.

The entry period for this round will close the evening of Thursday, November 5. The average player scores will update in real time below as new predictions are entered. Good luck!

The entry period for November 6 - 8 has already ended. Follow the weekly results at the Weekend Box Office Prophet main page.

The Box
Cameron Diaz and James Marsden can open a box and win $1 million. But if they do, someone in the world dies. Do they? They must for anything to happen in the film unless its about everyone after the object. The Box opens on 2,500 screens, is directed by Richard Kelly, and is receiving mixed reviews thus far.

All: $12.9   Me: n/a   Prophet: $12.6   Actual: $7.6

A Christmas Carol (2009)
Robert Zemeckis continues his obsession with motion capture filmmaking, this time tapping into the comedic talent of Jim Carrey. His previous foray into this area, The Polar Express, earned $23.3 million its opening weekend on 3,650 screens. Scrooge and the gang will open on 3,500 with the added bonus of 3D.

All: $25.4   Me: n/a   Prophet: $24.9   Actual: $30.1

The Fourth Kind
On the surface this looks a lot like Paranormal Activity, right? Wrong. Its marketing has traditional and almost nonexistent compared to the huge viral campaigns Paranormal has thrived on. The Fourth Kind also has little no buzz behind it with scant reviews painting a bleak picture. It opens on 2,450 screens.

All: $11.2   Me: n/a   Prophet: $8.1   Actual: $12.2

The Men Who Stare at Goats
George Clooney headlines this week's underdog which is reviewing better than average and has seen an uptick in marketing with some generally humorous ads. Small distributor Overture Films found its first real breakout hit with Law Abiding Citizen just a few weeks ago. Can lightning strike twice despite a much smaller 2,220 screen count?

All: $12.4   Me: n/a   Prophet: $11.8   Actual: $12.7

MIchael Jackson's This Is It
This Is It did well its opening weekend with $23.3 million but came up short of expectations putting it in the $30 million range. Blame it on Halloween or a mid-week true opening, but Sony sees enough legs to extend This Is It past its initial two week run. Four new films will have something to say about Jackson's success in weekend #2.

All: $15.4   Me: n/a   Prophet: $13.2   Actual: $13.2