Rules and Regulations
(largely based on 2003's rules and updated for 2008)
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2008 Summer Movie Pool Rules and Regulations (largely based on 2003's rules and updated for 2008) |
What is the Summer Movie Pool?
This is a contest where players rank the top 10 box-office-grossing films of the summer season, in order. Only those films released during the summer season are eligible, and only the money they gross during the summer season counts.
The Dates OR When exactly does "summer" begin and end?
When the Summer Movie Pool began back in the early 1990s, the summer movie season started on May 31st. The studios have decided otherwise in the intervening years, and since we follow them like sheep, the summer season now begins the first full weekend in May.
For 2008 this means films released on May 2nd weekend are eligible. Those released on April 25th weekend are NOT eligible.
All films released from the first full weekend in May through to Labor Day are eligible for the contest, and all the money those films make within that period in the American theatrical market will count.
Deadline for Entries and Fees
Entries, though, will be due at Midnight on Monday May 12, 2008. This means you can take into account the first two weekends of some films box office, and it means you can go see some of the early releases before you finish your entry. Entries should be emailed to myself, Andy Taylor, - andy@timetravelreviews.com this year's official score keeper.
In the absence of our regular Treasurer - Mr. Jason Mittell, I am steping up as the defacto bagman this year. Your entries fees are due by May 31st. Payment is by PayPal and can be made to andy@timetravelreviews.com Credit Card payment appears to be acceptable as well through PayPal until I hear otherwise. The fee is still $5 USD If you submit an entry but don't pay by May 31st we'll delete your entry and stop tracking your score.
THE RULES:
The Goal:
The object is to pick the films that you think will be the top-ten grossing films of the summer, in order of box-office performance. As I've said, that means only films released from May 2nd 2008 to the end of August 2007, counting only the money those films make domestically in that period.
So, to get pedantic about it, films from March or April might still be making money, but they don't count; films released from May on could start racking up foreign B.O., but that doesn't count; films released from May on could still be making $ into September, but that doesn't count either, sport.
Box Office numbers are generally available late Monday or Tuesday after the weekend closes. We have been using box office numbers from Yahoo http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/boxoffice/ which gets their numbers in turn from http://www.boxofficemojo.com/.
So what you will be doing is figuring out what 10 films will make the most money, and putting them in order of what you think they will gross at the box office.
BUT, in addition to your top 10, you get to pick 3 "Dark Horses"- films you think *might* make it, but that you are not confident enough about to put into the top 10 proper.
The Scoring:
Getting number 1 or number 10 dead-on gets you 13 points (each).
The rest of the scoring goes like this:
10 points for numbers 2-9 dead-on
7 points if your pick was only one spot away from where it ended up
5 points if it was two spots away
3 points if your pick is anywhere in the Top 10
1 point for each dark horse that makes it into the Top 10
The scoring is tabulated so that you get the SINGLE HIGHEST point value for each pick- that is, if you get number ten right, you don't get 13+3, you only get 13.
Where can I get a list of films coming out this summer?
http://www.comingsoon.net/movies.php
http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/comingsoon.html
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/coming_soon.aspx
http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/index.cfm
Remember release dates often change, so don't get too trigger happy and submit an entry May 1st and then learn that the studio has bumped something on May 2nd. You've got until the second week of May for entries. I suggest you use the time wisely. Don't be late, but don't be too premature either.
Updated: 2008-05-11