Box Office Contest Update: Nothing New to Report Edition

Stu’s victory lap continues, as “Inglourious Basterds” scalped another $20 million to bring its 10-day cume to just under $74 million, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo.

Next week marks the official end date of the contest, with results through the Monday of Labor Day weekend.

In addition to issuing the final tallies next Monday, we’ll also be taking a “coulda,” “shoulda,” “woulda” look at our game, in which we revisit the draft with the benefit of 20/20 hindsight and see how things would have worked out had we correctly drafted the 32 highest-grossing films of the summer in the proper order.

In the meantime, here are the totals through August 30:

Stu (eight films): $1.28 billion
John (eight films): $829 million
Robert (eight films): $758 million
Dave (eight films): $682 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Basterds Edition

With this week’s release of “Inglourious Basterds” and “Shorts,” all four of the competitors in this summer’s box office contest have all eight of their movies in play.

Quentin Tarantino’s return to form grossed $37 million this weekend: The basterds were quite glorious and just added icing to the cake of Stu’s runaway victory.

“Shorts” came up … yes … short for John, but he’ll finish second for the summer.

Totals through August 23:

Stu (eight films): $1.24 billion
John (eight films): $800.8 million
Robert (eight films): $743.3 million
Dave (eight films): $677.8 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Got My Computer Back Edition

Before we get started, consider this a public service announcement and a plea: If it is playing in your town, please go see the indie film “In the Loop,” which is an absolute must-see for anyone interested in smart comedy … but especially so if you like the intersection between politics and the media.

Imagine a comic version of “The West Wing,” albeit with completely venal characters, boasting an absolute live-wire performance by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi as a beautifully profane, irascible and manipulative head of communications for an unseen Prime Minister as Britain and the U.S. contemplate joining together to go to war.

Trust me, it’s brilliant.

OK, back to the box office.

Due to a computer issue befalling the Bellingham View (new hard drive needed for the laptop), we haven’t had a box office update in a while.

Which is probably for the best, considering the pathetic “performance” that John, Dave and I have turned in.

None of us has passed the $700 million mark yet with our combined releases, while Stu is closing in on $1.2 billion with yet another film – “Inglourious Basterds” – still to be released.

So, this isn’t really an update, per se, but more of a simple acknowledgement that the contest continues … although our hopes don’t.

Totals through August 9:

Stu (seven films): $1.18 billion
Robert (eight films): $693 million
John (seven films): $687 million
Dave (seven films): $660 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Hogwarts Edition

To John’s delight (and that of Warner Bros. employees), “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” opened huge this week, setting a box-office record with more than $22 million from midnight showings on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and then adding another $79.5 million over the weekend for a five-day cume of $159.7 million, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo.

His “Ice Age” is holding up strong, adding another $17.7 million this weekend for a total of $152 million.

John is convinced this means that the game is still on and that he has a chance to stop Stu’s inevitable march to victory. I disagree, but since he has three more movies still to be released, we’ll wait patiently.

“Bruno” plunged -73% from last weekend for a three-day take of $8.4 million and a total of $49.6 million=unhappy numbers for me.

Stu continues to ride high, with “Transformers,” “The Hangover” and “The Proposal” still in the top six this week.

“Public Enemies” has snatched up $79 million, making it Michael Mann’s second-highest-grossing film ever, behind only “Collateral.” That’s good news for Mann and Universal, but not good enough for Dave in this summer’s contest.

Next week: John’s hopes ride on Jerry Bruckheimer’s “G Force,” while Dave plays out the string with the release of “The Ugly Truth,” starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler.

Totals through July 19:

Stu (seven films): $1.1 billion
Robert (six films): $613 million
Dave (seven films): $563 million
John (five films): $389 million

Reminder: If it’s playing in your town, go see “The Hurt Locker.”

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Movie I Wish You Would See Edition

Before we get to this week’s results, please allow me this one public service announcement: Go see “The Hurt Locker,” one of the best and most intense movies of 2009.

OK, with that out of the way, this week brought the release of “Bruno” for me and “I Love You, Beth Cooper” for John.

“Bruno” opened strong with a $14 million Friday, according to estimates compiled by Box Office Mojo, but then dropped -39% for a weak Saturday of $8.8 million leading to an opening frame of $30.2 million.

No one loved “Beth Cooper,” with the Fox comedy matriculating only to $5 million in its opening weekend. In better news for John, “Ice Age” froze another $28.5 million in box office cash this weekend, leading to a 12-day cume of $120.6 million.

Dave’s “Public Enemies” held up OK, grifting another $14 million this weekend for a total of $66.5 million.

But all this is largely irrelevant, given that Stu has run away with this summer’s contest. His “Transformers” is now up to $339 million, “The Hangover” is at $222 million, and three of his other picks have passed the $100 million mark, including "The Proposal," which continues to earn. He has over $1 billion in the can.

As a noted basketball announcer used to say, this one’s in the refrigerator. The door’s closed, the lights are out, the eggs are cooling, the butter’s getting hard and the jello’s jiggling.

John holds out hope because next Wednesday marks the arrival of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,” but it’ll take more wizardry than Hogwarts could ever conjure up to stop the Levine express.

Totals through July 12:

Stu (seven films): $1 billion
Robert (six films): $587 million
Dave (seven films): $541 million
John (three films): $192 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Independence Day Edition

“Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” and “Public Enemies” opened on Wednesday of last week, joining holdover “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” to light up the July 4 weekend box office, according to estimates reported by Box Office Mojo.

For John, the “Ice Age” five-day debut of $67.5 million is a solid, if unspectacular, opening, putting it slightly behind the three-day total for “Up” and a few million behind the five-day for the second “Ice Age” film.

John will need the dinosaurs to roam far and wide if he has any chance of catching Stu, whose “Transformers” twisted up another $42.5 million in its second weekend for a 12-day cume of $293.5 million.

Dave’s “Public Enemies” shook down the box office to the tune of $41 million over five days. Sure, this is nothing compared to the dollars thrown off by Johnny Depp’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies or Christian Bale’s “Batman” pictures, but this has to be considered good commercial news, given the Michael Mann film’s decidedly mixed reviews, R rating and period setting.

Next week: “Bruno” is unleashed for me, and “I Love You, Beth Cooper” tests John’s theory that a legion of guys (pubescent and otherwise) are believing the tease that star Hayden Panettiere drops trou and that will translate into box office gold. We’ll see!

Totals through July 5:

Stu (seven films): $952.8 million
Robert (five films): $546.2 million
Dave (seven films): $500 million
John (three films): $130.9 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: Twisting Cars Edition

As expected, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” has dominated the U.S. box office and our summer contest since its debut on Wednesday, according to information provided by Box Office Mojo.

After five days, the monstrosity has assaulted audiences to the tune of $201.2 million for Stu, who claimed the top three films this week, with “The Proposal” finding another $18.5 million (off only -45%) for a total of $69 million, and “The Hangover” going for the hair of the dog and adding another $17.2 million for a cume of $183 million to date.

Dave’s two new entries were “My Sister’s Keeper” and “Cheri.” The former opened at $12 million, while the latter picked up $408,000 in limited release. I think we can safely say that Dave will not win the pool this year. It’s the end of an era.

John’s “Year One” and “Dance Flick” have combined for $57 million. He’s waiting impatiently for his big dogs – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs” – to start hunting.

“Up” added another $13 million this weekend for me, bringing its cume to $250 million. I’m going to need huge numbers from all my remaining movies to have any shot at even being close.

Next week brings “Ice Age” for John and Michael Mann’s “Public Enemies” – a must-see film in the Bellingham View household – for Dave.

Totals through June 28:

Stu (seven films): $606.6 million
Robert (five films): $530.2 million
Dave (six films): $434.9 million
John (two films): $57.4 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Contest Update: The Return of Sandra Bullock

“The Proposal” debuted this week at #1 for Stu, with the Sandra Bullock/Ryan Reynolds–starring comedy romancing its way to $34.1 million after three days, according to information from Box Office Mojo. This marks the biggest opening weekend ever for a Sandra Bullock film.

John’s second film to open, the Jack Black/Michael Cera–starring “Year One,” debuted at $20.1 million.

“The Hangover” party continues unabated, with the film dropping only -18% this week to add another $26.9 million for a cume of $153 million. Stu and Warner Bros. employees rejoice.

Disney/Pixar’s “Up” continues to fly, adding another $21.3 million toward my cause this weekend for a cume of $224 million.

The “Pelham” remake was off -52% for a second-frame haul of $11.3 million and a 10-day cume of $43.3 million. Probably not what Dave was looking for.

Next week, Stu appears poised to unleash hell on this year’s contest with Paramount’s release of DreamWorks Pictures’ “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.”

Dave took the counter-programming route with Warner Bros. Pictures’ “My Sister’s Keeper” and the Miramax release “Cheri,” directed by the criminally underrated Stephen Frears and starring Michelle Pfeiffer.

Totals to date:

Stu (six films): $526.1 million
Robert (five films): $501.6 million
David (four films): $403.2 million
John (two films): $44.9 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Beautiful Game Turns Ugly

The Confederations Cup rolled into its second weekend today with stunning results.

But before we get to that, let’s salute Spain and its 2-0 victory over South Africa yesterday, in which La Selección set a FIFA record for 15 consecutive wins in official competitions and tied Brazil’s streak of 35 matches in a row without a loss.

Now, for today’s positively absurd results.

Italy went into today’s match vs. Brazil needing to beat the South American giants and then get some help to advance to the semifinals. If they beat Brazil outright, a U.S. win over Egypt would likely put them through, depending on the goal situation. Failing that, they needed to hold Brazil to a draw and then hope that the U.S. beat Egypt 1-0.

Egpyt could advance by beating the U.S.

The only possible way the U.S. could advance would be by destroying Egpyt and having Italy be trounced by Brazil.

You know where this is headed.

After an initial 10 or 15 minutes in which they had a few scoring chances and looked aggressive, Italy then proceeded to fall apart completely, in a debacle reminiscent of the fast-breaking counter-attack whipping they suffered at the hands of The Netherlands in last summer’s Euro 08.

Brazil ran rampant toward the end of the first half, sprinting up and down the pitch to earn three goals in a 10-minute span, including two by now-ubiquitous striker Luis Fabiano and an own-goal by Andrea Dossena that, to be fair, would’ve easily been converted by Brazil for the third had the defender not accidentally pushed it past keeper Gianluigi Buffon.

Neither side could score in the second half, with Brazil coasting to a 3-0 victory and nine points from three wins to take Group B.

Now, Italy would have to hope the hapless U.S. -- which had lost to Italy and then been eviscerated by Brazil -- could somehow find some heart and beat Egypt in a low-scoring match.

But, no, Egypt went right into the tank, improbably losing 3-0 to the Stars and Stripes, leaving Italy, Egpyt and the U.S. all tied with three points.

Both Italy and the U.S. had goal differentials of -2, eliminating Egypt (-3) in the first tiebreaker.

The second tiebreaker – goals scored – favored the U.S., who’d managed to net four vs. Italy’s three, sending the Italians home and the U.S. into the semifinals where they’ll face Spain on Wednesday.

Good luck with that.

Día de los Padres

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, incluing my own, the original Robert G. Pietranton, aka "Piet."

Best to all!

The Beautiful Game

A year from now, the world’s attention will shift to South Africa for the FIFA World Cup 2010 Finals, the quadrennial assemblage of global soccer’s best national teams.

A year in advance, a smaller group of international squads have gathered there to compete in the Confederations Cup, a precursor to the big dance. Europe 2008 champions Spain, defending World Cup champions Italy, global soccer powerhouse Brazil and the United States have joined Egypt, Iraq, New Zealand and host country South Africa for the two-week tournament that began yesterday.

And what a tournament it has been so far! Spain picked up right where they left off in dominating Euro 08 with a 5-0 thrashing of New Zealand yesterday, behind a hat trick within the first 15 minutes of play by striker Fernando Torres.

Today brought a barn-burner between Brazil and Egpyt, a seven-goal seesaw thriller that the South American giants were fortunate to win 4-3 on an injury time penalty kick by former world footballer of the year Kaka, he of the recent enormous transfer from Bellingham View faves AC Milan to the mercenary Real Madrid.

Following Brazil’s great escape was Italy vs. the United States. The Americans took a 1-0 lead on a penalty conversion by Landon Donovan, but playing with 10 men after an early red card proved to be too high a mountain to climb for the U.S. They were ultimately outlasted and outclassed by the Azzurri, who won 3-1 behind two terrific goals by the young Giuseppe Rossi who, ironically, was born in the U.S. (“In Clifton, New Jersey, which wasn’t a crime at that time”) to Italian immigrant parents and later chose to play for Italy over his birth country.

Can't wait for more great matches.

Side note to Italy: Immediately burn those hideous alternate kits worn in today's match. Unless there's something I've missed completely, with the U.S. in all white, Italy could easily have worn its blue shirt-blue shorts-blue socks ensemble and not clashed with their opponents. Today's disaster -- think a duller version of Carolina blue for the shirts and a duller version of a Cleveland Browns football jersey color for the shorts and socks -- was atrocious.

Return of The Lake Show

The Los Angeles Lakers won the 2009 NBA championship tonight in Orlando, beating the Magic 99-86 to win the series 4-1.

It's the 15th championship for the Lakers franchise, 10th overall for Coach Phil Jackson and fourth for Finals MVP Kobe Bryant and clutch point guard Derek Fisher.

Of course, some L.A. fans haven't figured out how to deal with prosperity.

Box Office Contest Update: NYC Subway Edition

This week brought the release of “The Taking of Pelham 123” for Dave and “Imagine That” for Stu.

The “Pelham” remake, starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta, made off with $25 million in its opening frame for Dave, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo.

Eddie Murphy’s second consecutive disaster, “Imagine That,” opened to $5.7 million for Stu, shades of last summer’s “Meet Dave” fiasco that I endured.

Of the holdovers, “The Hangover” continues to party, dropping only -26% in its second weekend for a 10-day cume of $105.4 million, which is great news for Stu in our contest and for Warner Bros. Pictures in general (and, by extension as a Warner Bros. Entertainment employee, for me!).

“Up” is also holding strong, down only -31% in its third weekend for a rising cume of $187 million, putting it within reach of becoming Pixar’s second-highest domestic grosser ever, behind only “Finding Nemo.” For my sake in this contest, let’s hope so.

“Star Trek” crossed the $230 million mark for Dave.

John’s only movie in theaters, “Dance Flick,” has waltzed slowly to $24 million to date.

Next week, Stu’s hopes ride on the Sandra Bullock-Ryan Reynolds romantic comedy “The Proposal,” while John finally has a second horse to ride: Jack Black and Michael Cera starring in the ultimate origin story, “Year One.” Good luck with that!

Totals to date:

Robert (five films): $457 million
Stu (five films): $412.8 million
David (four films): $371.7 million
John (one film): $24.2 million

Click here for our complete picks and release dates.

Box Office Update: "Hangover" Edition

This weekend marked the release of two films for Stu and one for me.

Mr. Levine's fourth pick, the "Land of the Lost" remake starring Will Ferrell, limped home with $19.5 million since Friday, while his fifth selection -- Warner Bros. Pictures' "The Hangover" -- looks like the sleeper hit of the summer, road-tripping its way to a three-day opening frame of $43.3 million and placing second for the weekend.

However, both releases were "Up"-staged by my Disney-Pixar toon, which flew to a $44 million weekend and saw its cume balloon to $137 million after 10 days.

My eighth pick, the counter-programmer "My Life in Ruins," proved ruinous indeed, grossing a measly $3.2 million.

Of other holdovers, Stu's "Angels & Demons" is up to $116 million while the "Night at the Museum" sequel has raised $127 million.

My "Wolverine" is at $174 million, "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is just shy of $54 million, and "Drag Me to Hell" is at $28.5 million.

For Dave, "Star Trek" has gone to $223 million, "Terminator Salvation" is at $105 million, and "Management" is at $834,000, give or take a few pennies.

John still has only had one movie open, and "Dance Flick" is resting at $22.7 million.

Next week: Eddie Murphy tries to persuade audiences to "Imagine That" for Stu, while Dave rests his hopes on the remake of "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," starring Denzel Washington and John Travolta.

Totals through June 7:

* Robert (five films): $392 million

* Dave (three films): $329 million

* Stu (four films): $306 million

* John (one film): $22.7 million

Click here for a complete list of our films and release dates.

The New Math: 24 = 40 + 8 + 8 = 1-0

Kobe Bryant goes for 40 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Lakers blew out the Orlando Magic 100-75 in game one of the 2009 NBA Finals.

Game two on Sunday night.

Drag Me Up to Hell: Movie Box Office Contest Update

For those of you following the 2009 Summer Movie Box Office Contest, this weekend brought the release of Disney/Pixar's "Up" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," which happened to be my second and seventh picks, respectively.

"Up" soared to $68.2 million, according to estimates provided by Box Office Mojo, which makes it the third-highest Pixar opening ever, behind "The Incredibles," which opened at $70.5 million in November 2004 and fought on to gross $261 million, and "Finding Nemo," which opened at $70.3 million in May 2003 and swam all the way to a domestic catch of $340 million.

In order for me to have any chance to win, I need "Up" to take on a decidedly "Nemo" trajectory, floating to north of $300 million.

"Drag Me to Hell" bowed with $16.6 million, which has to be viewed as a slight disappointment. A great trailer and some incredibly positive reviews had me hoping this one would crack the $20 million mark and be a nice, summer sleeper that would benefit from positive word of mouth and scare up close to $100 million before the end of its run. It still might prove to be leggy, but it could've used a bit of a better start.

Dave's "Star Trek" passed the $200 million mark, while "Terminator Salvation" is at $90.7 million.

Stu's sequels -- "Angels & Demons" and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" -- both reached the $100 million mark.

John's lone entry so far, "Dance Flick," has earned just $19.2 million to date, after a $5 million weekend.

As for my earlier entries, "Wolverine" grossed an anemic $3.9 million (wow) in its fifth weekend, for a total of $170.9 million. "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" has romanced its way past the $50 million threshold with a $1.9 million weekend, but it doesn't look like that date will bear more fruit.

Next week brings Stu's fourth and fifth picks -- "Land of the Lost" and Warner Bros.' "The Hangover" -- and my eighth pick, the Nia Vardalos-starrer "My Life in Ruins."

(Full disclosure: I chose it with my last selection, hoping to scoop up some counter-programming dollars from women dying to see anything but the other two male-skewing comedies being released. In my dreams, I told myself I'd be thrilled if it grossed a third of Vardalos' "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," which would be $80 million or so. Then, I saw the trailer. Fat chance of that happening. I'll settle for $30 million at this point.)

Totals through May 31:

* Rob (four films): $305.7 million

* Dave (three films): $300.9 million

* Stu (two films): $209.5 million

* John (one film): $19.2 million

Click here for our complete list of picks and release dates.

Back to the Museum

Ben Stiller and director Shawn Levy rounded up a bunch of friends and $150 million or so of 20th Century Fox's money and delivered "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" to an apparently eagerly waiting marketplace, grossing $53.5 million through Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, according to estimates from Box Office Mojo, giving Stu a nice opening for his second pick in this summer's box office contest.

Stu's "Angels & Demons" also picked up another $21 million, for a cume of $81.5 million.

Dave's second pick of the summer was "Terminator Salvation," and director McG's teamup with Christian Bale has grossed an estimated $56.4 million through Sunday, after opening on Thursday (with Wednesday midnight previews).

Dave's "Star Trek" added another $22 million this weekend, for a cume of $183.6 million. The less said about "Management" the better.

John's eighth pick -- "Dance Flick" -- failed to find an audience, opening at a stillborn $11.1 million through Sunday.

For my part, "Wolverine" has $163 million in the bank, and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" is now up to $45.9 million.

Next week brings Pixar's "Up" and Sam Raimi's "Drag Me to Hell," both of which are my picks. So, I look forward to a nice weekend ahead.

Totals through May 24:

Dave (three films): $240.5 million

Robert (two films): $208.9 million

Stu (two films): $135 million

John (one film): $11 million

Click here for our complete list of picks and release dates.

Memorial Day

"I wish we could dedicate Memorial Day, not to the memory of those who have died at war, but to the idea of saving the lives of the young people who are going to die in the future if we don’t find some new way -- some new religion maybe -- that takes war out of our lives.

"That would be a Memorial Day worth celebrating." -- Andy Rooney

Watch the complete video here or read the full text here.

Bring 'em home.

Sick

LeBron James nails the game-winning three to even the Eastern Conference Finals series at 1-1 vs. the Orlando Magic.

Sick.

The Camerlengo Cometh: Summer Movie Box Office Contest Update

Director Ron Howard and Tom Hanks returned to the scene of Biblical European crimes this weekend with Ewan McGregor along for the ride as Il Camerlengo (chamberlain to the Pope) in "Angels and Demons," grossing $48 million, topping the U.S. box office and -- most importantly -- getting Stu on the board in this summer's box office contest.

"Star Trek" continues to live long and prosper for Dave, holding up admirably to add another $43 to its already impressive haul for a 10-day cume of $147.6 million.

Unfortunately for Mr. Shaw, his eighth pick, the Jennifer Aniston/Steve Zahn-starrer "Management," opened on just over 200 screens for an anemic $378,000. If Dave's going to win for the third year in a row, he'll be doing it without the help of "Management."

As far as my selections are concerned, "Wolverine" clawed together another nearly $15 million for a total of $151 million, while "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" added nearly $7 million for a cume of $40 million.

Next week brings the highly anticipated "Terminator Salvation" for Dave and "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian" for Stu, while John gets off the schneid and into the game with the release of his eighth choice, "Dance Flick."

Totals thru May 17:

Robert (two films): $191 million
Dave (two films): $148 million
Stu (one film): $48 million
John: N/A

Check here for our complete picks and release dates.

"Trek" Beams Up Cash

In the second weekend of this summer's box office contest, Dave's first pick, "Star Trek," went where no release in the franchise had ever gone, grossing an estimated $76.5 million for the frame, including Thursday night previews, according to Box Office Mojo.

"Wolverine" dropped a ghastly -68% but still added an estimated $27 million to bring its cume to $129.6 million for me.

And my sixth pick, "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past," punched $10.5 million worth of tickets -- off -32% -- for a two-weekend total of $30.2 million.

Next week will belong to Stu with the opening of "Angels & Demons," while Dave hopes for a few million bucks from the indie romantic comedy "Management," starring Jennifer Aniston, Steve Zahn and Woody Harrelson.

Totals through May 10:

Robert (two films): $159.9 million
Dave (one film): $72.5 million
John: N/A
Stu: N/A

Check here for a list of our picks and release dates.

Jokester in Chief

Tradition dictates that each year the President attend the annual White House Correspondents Association dinner and give a lighthearted, self-deprecating speech that also pokes fun at colleagues, political rivals and the media.

Some people think it's beneath the office.

I think it's entertaining, although every President manages to make a few jokes that will cause regret later.

Here's Obama's first shot at it from last night.

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, including my own, Linda Ann Pietranton.

Best wishes to all!

The Color of (Movie) Money

Every year, millions of people in the U.S. and around the world participate in "fantasy sports" games, banding together with similarly obsessed friends to draft and manage (or mismanage, in most cases) virtual teams in football (the U.S. and international kind), baseball, basketball and hockey. I suppose being able to say "I've got LeBron James!" or Manny Ramirez or Adrian Peterson or Cristiano Ronaldo can be exciting.

Naturally, I'm one of them, annually combining shoddy pre-season research with indecisive drafting and poor weekly management skills to basically make a disaster of my fantasy football and basketball experience. This year, for instance, I drafted New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady with my first pick in two different fantasy football leagues. When he went out in the first quarter of the first game of the year, my teams -- The Good Fellas -- were toast.

At the invitation of my friend John, this year marked the first time I have played in the English Premier League soccer contests. The rookie year is always the hardest, and I'm living proof, performing abysmally in both the fantasy team competition and in the "I Know the Score" weekly match prediction game.

I normally fare better in basketball. This year, I finished third out of 10 in the annual Peacock Players League, and I've actually won once this century, so I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

Of course, a couple friends of mine and I take things even further, and so, for the last several years, we've expanded onto the links, each drafting six professional golfers the day before the start of golf's four major championships. Tiger Woods at Bethpage for the U.S. Open seems like a good bet. Hope I draw the #1 pick.

But the sheer lunacy of this compulsion to compete in just about everything is expressed most fully in what is now the sixth annual Summer Movie Box Office Contest. Every April, my friends Stu and Dave and I "draft" eight movies in classic "snake" or "serpentine" fashion, and whichever person's collection of films has grossed the most as of the end of business on Labor Day wins $20 from each of the others, to be paid in person at a humiliating ceremonial lunch.

I only say it's humiliating because Stu and I have lost to Dave each of the last three years. And in one of those years, Dave beat us essentially with one hand tied behind his back, as one of his films didn't crack $20 million ... and yet another of his picks didn't end up even getting released after being bumped from the summer schedule. So, in all truth, he beat us with six movies. As I said, humiliating.

Anyway, our friend John heard us talking about the box office contest last year and innocently asked which one of us had picked "Step Brothers," starring Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Of course, none of us had drafted it. I mean, who needed that movie (which eventually grossed $100 million) when we had "Meet Dave" (me), "The X-Files: I Want to Believe" (Dave) and "The Love Guru" (Stu) in our slates? Anyway, John -- smelling blood in the water and easy money -- immediately insisted on joining and he's the fourth in this year's contest. (And after hearing about our picks from this year, another good friend of mine is angling to be the fifth next year.)

Here are this year's picks and release dates. I had the first two movies to land in the contest -- "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" and "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" -- which combined to gross an estimated $102 million for the weekend (according to BoxOfficeMojo.com).

2009 SUMMER MOVIE BOX OFFICE CONTEST

MAY 1–SEPTEMBER 7

JOHN
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
8. G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
9. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
16. G-Force
17. Year One
24. Shorts
25. I Love You Beth Cooper
32. Dance Flick

Total through May 3 (estimate): N/A

STU
2. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
7. Angels & Demons
10. Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
15. Land of the Lost
18. The Hangover
23. The Proposal
26. Inglorious Basterds
31. Imagine That

Total through May 3 (estimate): N/A

ROBERT
3. X-Men Origins: Wolverine: $87,000,000
6. Up
11. Bruno
14. Funny People
19. Julie & Julia
22. Ghosts of Girlfriends Past: $15,325,000
27. Drag Me to Hell
30. My Life in Ruins

Total through May 3 (estimate): $102.3 million

DAVID
4. Star Trek
5. Terminator Salvation
12. Public Enemies
13. The Taking of Pelham 123
20. The Ugly Truth
21. My Sister’s Keeper
28. Management
29. Cheri

Total through May 3 (estimate): N/A

RELEASE DATES

MAY 1
Ghost of Girlfriends Past (Bobby P.)
X-Men Origins: Wolverine (Bobby P.)

MAY 8
Star Trek (Dave)

MAY 15
Angels & Demons (Stu)
Management (Dave)

MAY 21
Terminator Salvation (Dave)

MAY 22
Dance Flick (John)
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (Stu)

MAY 29
Drag Me to Hell (Bobby P.)
Up (Bobby P.)

JUNE 5
The Hangover (Stu)
Land of the Lost (Stu)
My Life in Ruins (Bobby P.)

JUNE 12
Imagine That (Stu)
The Taking of Pelham 123 (Dave)

JUNE 19
The Proposal (Stu)
Year One (John)

JUNE 24
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (Stu)

JUNE 26
Cheri (Dave)
My Sister’s Keeper (Dave)

JULY 1
Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (John)
Public Enemies (Dave)

JULY 10
Bruno (Bobby P.)
I Love You Beth Cooper (John)

JULY 15
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (John)

JULY 24
G-Force (John)
The Ugly Truth (Dave)

JULY 31
Funny People (Bobby P.)

AUGUST 7
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (John)
Julie & Julia (Bobby P.)

AUGUST 21
Inglorious Basterds (Stu)

Shorts (John) *

* UDPATE 6/14: "Shorts" moved from August 7 to 21.

More Mann

The second trailer for Michael Mann's forthcoming film "Public Enemies" -- co-written by "Southland" executive producer Ann Biderman -- debuted last week.

Check it out above.

Counting the days until July 1.