Welcome to Box Office Wizard, Player Affinity’s Movie Box Office Prediction Contest. Just read through this post and tell us your top five box office predicted finishers for this weekend. Finish out 2011 on top and you will win something COOL.
This is Week 33.
Contest Rules: To qualify, entries must be submitted in the Comments Section. For every movie you correctly place in the box office top five (say you pick “Resident Evil: Afterthought 3D” to rank first in the box office that weekend and it comes in first), you earn one point. The movie selection must be in its correct rank to earn a point. Points are cumulative. We will keep track of your correct percentage. WANT FIVE BONUS POINTS??? Leave your official wizard name in the Comment Section with your entry. Be creative. Example names are in our Wizarding Leaderboard.
How scoring works: So, let’s say you’ve played for four weeks and missed only four movies. You then have 16 Cumulative Points out of 20 and a prediction percentage of 75%. Not too shabby. Someone else could have 64 CP out of 110 and be ahead of you in CP, but behind you (58%) in percentage. You must, however, have played 8 weeks to be eligible for the Percentage crown. When the year is up, whoever has the most cumulative points and whoever has the highest percentage (could be the same person) wins the title of Box Office Wizard 2011.
Official Scoring/The Fine Print:
-Only submissions in the comments section qualify.
-Predictions must be in by Noon (in the time zone you’re in) the Saturday after the weekly post goes up and Noon Friday on Holiday weekends.
-Only the Weekend Actuals (released Monday afternoons) count as the official totals, not the estimates that most news sources publish Sunday afternoons.
-For holiday weekends that start early or end late, only the three-day Friday through Sunday totals count.
-Look for Dinah Galley’s box office recap on Mondays for the weekend’s results (not always the actuals, so look closely).
Top Five From Last Weekend
1. The Help - $14.5 M ... $118.9 M
2. The Debt - $9.9 M ... $11.8 M
3. Apollo 18 - $8.7 M ... $8.7 M
4. Shark Night 3D - $8.4 M ... $8.4 M
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes - $7.9 M ... $160.1 M
Week #32 Wizard(s): Simonious and PeeWee - 1 pt
Current Cumulative Box Office Wizard(s): Cinemus and Herpious - 90 pts
Current Percentage Box Office Wizard(s): Simonious Saysian - 57%
Cinemus the Predictor - 90 (85/160 - 53%)
Herpious Derpious - 90 (85/160 - 53%)
Kieran - 75 (75/155 - 48%)
Simonius Saysian - 74 (69/120 - 57%)
Lord Jamven Serpenthelm - 20 (15/35 - 43%)
PeeWee the Purple - 9 (4/15 - 27%)
MacGumblebug the Third - 9 (4/10) - 40%)
Julian - 7 (7/15 - 48%)
Max A - 5 (5/10 - 50%)
Alex M - 2 (2/10 - 20%)
BOX OFFICE WIZARD HALL OF FAME
2010 Box Office Wizard: SimonSays - 97 pts in 34 weeks
2010 Box Office Wizard: Steven C - 97 pts in 34 weeks
New Contenders this Weekend
Contagion
Directed by Steven Soderbergh
Written by Scott Z. Burns
Starring: Matt Damon, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law
Genre: Thriller
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Release: 3,222 theaters 
Warrior
Directed by Gavin O’Connor
Written by Gavin O’Connor, Anthony Tambakis, Cliff Dorfman
Starring: Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Nick Nolte, Jennifer Morrison
Genre: Sports Drama/Action
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release: 1,869 theaters 
Buck Larson: Born to Be a Star
Directed by Tom Brady
Written by Adam Sandler, Allen Covert, Nick Swardson
Starring: Nick Swardson, Christina Ricci, Don Johnson, Stephen Dorff
Genre: Comedy
Distributor: Sony/Columbia
Release: 1,500 theaters 
Creature
Directed by Fred Andrews
Written by Fred Andrews, Tracy Morse
Starring: Mehcad Brooks, Dillon Casey, Amanda Fuller, Sid Haig
Genre: Horror
Distributor: Bubble Distribution
Release: 1,507 theaters
My Box Office Predictions
I want swift revenge, and I think I can get it this weekend. The box office is due to be taken over and with strong reviews and a big release, Contagion should manage it and with at least $20 million, especially considering theaters have been completely devoid of anything like it the last few weeks.
No. 2 is a tough battle this week, but I can’t pick against The Help. Great reviews will benefit Warrior long term, but with only 1,800 or so theaters, it can’t make a splash. Hardy and Edgerton might be marquee names in the future, but for now they’re underdogs. I wouldn’t be shocked to see them sneak away with $15 million, but it’s tough with The Help looking to bag another $10-12 million.
Of all the pathetic finishers last week, The Debt should hold up the best. It’s well-reviewed sophisticated entertainment and the longevity of those films is tons better than the horror films that debuted alongside it. Look for $7 million from the thriller.
In fifth, all the horror films from last week will slide far, but Rise of the Planet of the Apes should stand tall enough yet again, something close to $6 million. Bucky Larson: Born to Be a Star and Creature will be lucky to even sniff $5 million, especially the latter.
1. Contagion
2. The Help
3. Warrior
4. The Debt
5. Rise of the Planet of the Apes
