Weekend Box Office Predictions Game: Sex and a Prince

May 25, 2010

Shrek Forever After's low $70.8 million opening threw off scores in our Weekend Box Office Prophet game. The Prophet missed the ogre's mark by nearly $20 million, but still managed to beat the player averages for all five films 3-2 (see the results). Top place player finisher Davien walks away with a DVD consolation prize.

A pair of new films enter the fray for Memorial Day weekend. Sarah Jessica Parker heads to the desert in Sex and the City 2 on Thursday, while Jake Gyllenhaal and Gemma Arterton pair up in a more hostile desert setting in Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Returning for this round of our game are Iron Man 2, Shrek Forever After and Robin Hood.

The game's objective is to guess the final domestic box office dollars in millions for these five films from Friday, May 28 through Sunday, May 30. Your prediction is averaged in with the other players for a cumulative score to compete against the Prophet predictions (view the overall leaderboard).

Should the average player differences between the actual box office gross and predicted grosses beat the Prophet for 3 or more of the 5 films, the top player will win the following titles on Blu-ray:

High Anxiety on Blu-ray
Robin Hood: Men in Tights on Blu-ray
NEW THIS WEEK: The Wolfman on Blu-ray

A tie goes in favor of the players.

If the Prophet wins then all three prizes will rollover into the next round and be joined by a fourth. We will still award a small DVD prize to the top place finisher should that happen.

Once you are logged in, the average player scores will update in real time below as new predictions are entered. The entry period will close at 9pm PST Thursday, May 27, with this round's results being published in the next round's game page next Tuesday or Wednesday.

There are currently 53 players up against the Prophet

The entry period for May 28 - 30 has already ended. Follow the weekly results at the Weekend Box Office Prophet main page.

Sex and the City 2
Sex and the City has already proven itself to be a box office powerhouse. The original topped $57 million its opening Memorial Day weekend off under 3,300 screens. The sequel will arrive on a minimum of 3,400 screens and also get a head start by opening on Thursday rather than Friday.

All: $55.9 Me: n/a Prophet: $62.3 Actual: $31.1

Prince of Persia: Sands of Time
The bad news for the Prince is that his film is based off a video game. We all know how game-to-film adaptations usually pan out. The good news is Jerry Bruckheimer is throwing his muscle and dollars behind it, elevating the Prince from mere game character to summer blockbuster lead. Opens on 3,500 screens.

All: $47.5 Me: n/a Prophet: $46.8 Actual: $30.1

Shrek Forever After
Shrek's final big screen outing opened strong to the tune of $70.8 million, but fell short of even loftier expectations that had it making over $100 million in its first three days. With kids out of school, a holiday weekend and no kiddie competition, Shrek might still have some legs left before sharply dropping off the table.

All: $43.5 Me: n/a Prophet: $33.0 Actual: $43.3

Iron Man 2
Last weekend, its third in theaters, Iron Man 2 dropped 49% down to $26.4 million. A similar drop for Memorial Day weekend would be acceptable considering Prince of Persia will be aiming squarely at Tony Stark's audience.

All: $21.7 Me: n/a Prophet: $14.2 Actual: $16.0

Robin Hood
Robin Hood held relatively strong in its second weekend with a 48% drop down to $18.8 million. A similar or steeper drop is expected though as interest in Russell Crowe shooting arrows seems to be waning and Prince of Persia frankly looks like a more exciting Memorial Day choice.

All: $14.1 Me: n/a Prophet: $11.1 Actual: $10.4