Happy Holidays!

It's the holidays and the movies are just pouring out.  Sadly the openings are less than stellar.  Apparently, the masses didn't want to see hobbits, people handle turning 40 or Jack attempt to kick but.  Even making Monsters 3d and putting a guilt trip on Jason Bateman failed to draw a crowd.  As we approach the new year, never fear their are some releases yet to be had.

Around the league, Ned looks to take home the crown while Jeff catapults into second just in front of Colleen.  Opening this week is 'Django Unchained',  'Les Miserables', and 'Parental Guidance'.  Every dollar counts so get out this holiday weekend!

Do to several attempts, I was not able to make the spreadsheet bend to my will.  Maybe next week ...

Name	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week
Ned	$3,409,684,620	1	1
Jeff	$3,297,561,100	2	4
Colleen	$3,296,645,188	3	2
Chuck	$3,254,991,317	4	3
Faith	$3,172,733,146	5	5
John	$3,155,043,068	6	6
Jamie	$3,062,672,485	7	7

Name	The Rest	This Week	Last Week
Ned	$29,511,912	1	1
Jamie	$29,276,314	2	2
Colleen	$26,782,699	3	3
Chuck	$26,642,287	4	4
Jeff	$26,555,493	5	5
John	$26,221,070	6	6
Faith	$25,995,195	7	7
Name	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Ned	$3,439,196,532	1	1	19
Jeff	$3,324,116,593	2	4	18
Colleen	$3,323,427,887	3	2	17
Chuck	$3,281,633,604	4	3	15
Faith	$3,198,728,341	5	5	16
John	$3,181,264,138	6	6	18
Jamie	$3,091,948,799	7	7	16

  

The Hobbits have landed!

$84 million, that is what 'The Hobbit' managed to squeak out this past weekend. It literally had no competition. 'Rise of the Guardians' came in second earning less than $9 million. This placed them 3rd overall behind 'Skyfall' and 'Twilight' for the holiday season. Actually viewing it myself, I will disagree with the critics who gave it only 1.5 stars. Apparently, fantasy worlds do exists and instead of building characters, Tolkein should have spent more time on developing fight scenes.

In the league, Ned took one step closer. There are only seven weeks left! The only change in the standings this week was Jeff and John moving out of the cellar. 'This in part was due to 'The Hobbit' coming up big. (Sadly not big enough)  

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$3,240,667,259	3	4	$26,498,469	4	4	$3,267,165,728	3	4	13
Colleen	$3,282,321,130	2	2	$26,570,615	3	3	$3,308,891,745	2	2	14
Faith	$3,158,409,088	5	3	$25,811,827	7	7	$3,184,220,915	5	3	13
Jamie	$3,024,474,997	7	5	$29,132,496	2	2	$3,053,607,493	7	5	14
Jeff	$3,217,821,598	4	6	$26,447,677	5	5	$3,244,269,275	4	6	14
John	$3,140,719,010	6	7	$26,077,252	6	6	$3,166,796,262	6	7	16
Ned	$3,371,487,132	1	1	$29,511,912	1	1	$3,400,999,044	1	1	18

 

Here comes the Hobbits

'Skyfall' takes down 'Twilight' while 'Playing for Keeps' is just another movie steamrolled this holiday season by the big three.   However their time is running out.  'Skyfall' took the week with around $10.8 million while 'Twilight' and 'Lincoln' dropped to third and fourth respectively behind 'Rise of the Guardians' failing to make it into 8 digit land.  Insert 'The Hobbit'.  With new movies failing to make the grade and the stalwarts showing age, it couldn't be better for a movie to make a big splash.

Christmas is approaching fast and Ned is looking to sweep.  He has a sizable lead in all three categories  and it's going to take an unknown to do well.  In second and holding for the second straight week is Colleen while Faith and Chuck are duking it out for third.  Hold tight, Ned may have the lead, but there is going to be some jockeying for the other spots.

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$2,479,111,532	4	4	$26,498,469	4	5	$2,505,610,001	4	4	12
Colleen	$2,520,765,403	2	2	$26,570,615	3	3	$2,547,336,018	2	2	13
Faith	$2,481,470,664	3	3	$25,771,338	7	7	$2,507,242,002	3	3	11
Jamie	$2,432,153,876	5	5	$29,092,007	2	2	$2,461,245,883	5	5	12
Jeff	$2,371,648,568	6	6	$26,447,677	5	4	$2,398,096,245	6	6	13
John	$2,294,545,980	7	7	$26,077,252	6	6	$2,320,623,232	7	7	14
Ned	$2,609,931,405	1	1	$29,511,912	1	1	$2,639,443,317	1	1	17

The big three .......

For the past three weeks, a trio of 'Twilight', 'Skyfall' and 'Lincoln' have been dominating the landscape basically steamrolling anything in their path. Up this week was 'Killing Me Softly'. The new Brad Pitt movie didn't even stand a chance. Failing to make $7 million, 'KMS' had a disappointing opening weekend.

However, 'The Collection' had a nice opening in The Rest division with $3 million. This catapulted Ned and Jamie into 1st and 2nd place respectively in that division. As we move into the second half, there are considerably less movies picked. It might be a bit soon, but the broomsticks could be coming out by Christmas!

The trio could hit a snag this week with the opening of 'The Hobbit'. It has the makings of a big blockbuster hit, opening up in different formats (Imax and Digital), lots of screens (over 3000, maybe even 4000), and a known sequel (hello, Lord of the Rings). Despite some negative articles floating around the internet, this should bring in at least $80 million this weekend. So run out and get your tickets, a new journey is about to begin!     

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$2,479,111,532	4	3	$26,417,107	5	3	$2,505,528,639	4	3	11
Colleen	$2,520,765,403	2	2	$26,489,253	3	1	$2,547,254,656	2	2	12
Faith	$2,481,470,664	3	4	$25,689,976	7	7	$2,507,160,640	3	4	10
Jamie	$2,432,153,876	5	5	$29,072,616	2	6	$2,461,226,492	5	5	11
Jeff	$2,371,648,568	6	6	$26,447,677	4	2	$2,398,096,245	6	6	13
John	$2,294,545,980	7	7	$25,976,499	6	5	$2,320,522,479	7	7	13
Ned	$2,609,931,405	1	1	$29,411,159	1	4	$2,639,342,564	1	1	15

The blog sees new updates and the lead keeps growing ...

'Twilight' and 'Skyfall' brought the crowds into what was a very lucrative weekend for theaters.  Moving to wide release,  'Lincoln' managed to pull in $25 mil.  What does this all mean for movies actually opening up this past weekend, pickings were slim.  'Rise of the Guardians' and 'Life of Pi' did pull in over $20 mil but far less than what was projected.  The long wait for 'Red Dawn' was finally over and the folks rushed to theaters.  Sadly not in big numbers.

Ned still topped the charts with Colleen pulling into second with the help of 'Life of Pi'.  Colleen still rules the 'The Rest' category and looking to make it a repeat.  Just two months remain but there are plenty of big releases left to come.  Out this week is 'The Collection' and Killing Me Softly' for the Blockbusters.  This means, Ned will strengthen his lead, Faith could climb back in the second spot and John might get out of the cellar.  Also opening up is 'Dragon' which was at the Chicago Film Festival, pretty good!

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$2,479,111,532	3	5	$26,417,107	3	2	$2,505,528,639	3	5	11
Colleen	$2,520,765,403	2	3	$26,489,253	1	1	$2,547,254,656	2	3	12
Faith	$2,454,219,064	4	2	$25,689,976	7	5	$2,479,909,040	4	2	9
Jamie	$2,432,153,876	5	4	$25,968,347	6	7	$2,458,122,223	5	4	10
Jeff	$2,371,648,568	6	6	$26,447,677	2	2	$2,398,096,245	6	6	13
John	$2,267,294,380	7	7	$25,973,318	5	6	$2,293,267,698	7	7	11
Ned	$2,603,118,505	1	1	$26,292,572	4	4	$2,629,411,077	1	1	11

  

Twilight comes up big, really big!!!

Well, not much more needs to be said.  Twilight came, tons saw, it will determine the outcome of this league.   Ned's picks are looking pretty strong and his chances are increasing each week.  With the multiplier, league totals are now all over $2 billion.  Ned's lead currently stands at $33 million.  In The Rest, Colleen is holding on however Chuck and Jeff are keeping pace with Ned closing in.  

Following Twilight is no easy task.  Opening up on a holiday weekend could make it even tougher.  'Life of Pi', 'Red Dawn', and 'Rise of the Guardians' are all coming out this week which could make for low releases.  On The Rest front, 'The Central Park Five', 'Hitchcock', and 'Rust and Bone' all throw their hat into the ring.

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$2,321,950,934	5	7	$1,397,287	2	2	$2,323,348,221	5	7	9
Colleen	$2,430,959,347	3	4	$1,469,433	1	1	$2,432,428,780	3	4	10
Faith	$2,454,219,064	2	2	$957,871	5	4	$2,455,176,935	2	2	9
Jamie	$2,375,047,204	4	6	$948,527	7	7	$2,375,995,731	4	6	8
Jeff	$2,304,294,026	6	3	$1,397,287	2	2	$2,305,691,313	6	3	10
John	$2,267,294,380	7	5	$953,498	6	5	$2,268,247,878	7	5	10
Ned	$2,486,895,082	1	1	$1,272,752	4	6	$2,488,167,834	1	1	8

Bond, James Bond

Ned's lead narrows to $30 mil, Colleen holds off Chuck and Jeff and 3 fail to crack a billion.  With the multiplier in affect this year, the final tallies are going to be high!  Ned held off a surging Faith which moves into second with the help of 'Skyfall'.  'Skyfall' made an impressive opening of $88.3 million.  Ned held off a surging Faith which moves into second with the help of 'Skyfall'.  'Skyfall' made an impressive opening of $88.3 million.  'Lincoln' made over $900,000 on just 11 screens.  That comes out to somewhere around $85,000 per screen.  Maybe we should score this league differently, hmmm ….

Coming out this week is Twilight Part 1.  This seems to be the new fad to squeak more money out of the movie viewer.  Break the movie a part and spread the openings out over time.   It works when the content is just right.  Case in point, the “twi-hards” will en mass this weekend descending on theaters across the land.  They will arrive at theaters like a flock of birds sitting in the trees all singing their own chirp ... at the same time.  What is that chirp you speak of, the baby.  Yes, the baby!  Never picked up a book even to glance at.  Seen no movies and can't remember the trailers even if they did pass my eyes. 

But I know about the baby.  Here is hoping it doesn't open it's eyes until Part 2, or a surprise planned  Part 3.  Let's just say you have been warned!

	Blockbuster	This Week	Last Week	The Rest	This Week	Last Week	Overall	This Week	Last Week	Movies
Chuck	$911,274,594	7	6	$1,076,597	2	2	$912,351,191	7	6	7
Colleen	$1,019,397,001	4	3	$1,148,743	1	1	$1,020,545,744	4	3	7
Faith	$1,043,542,724	2	5	$957,871	4	4	$1,044,500,595	2	5	8
Jamie	$964,370,864	6	7	$945,744	7	7	$965,316,608	6	7	6
Jeff	$1,034,685,320	3	2	$1,076,597	2	2	$1,035,761,917	3	2	8
John	$997,685,674	5	4	$953,498	5	5	$998,639,172	5	4	9
Ned	$1,076,218,742	1	1	$952,062	6	6	$1,077,170,804	1	1	6

Finally, can I give a huge shout out to "the man, the myth, the legend", Lincoln?  Looks like everyone will be breaking a million in The Rest division!!!