2024-25 YEARLONG BOX-OFFICE DRAFT LEAGUE

[Ron Burgundy]

Last year I was wondering if we could bring in a rule change:

Forfeit your last pick to go up the ladder for waiver wire. Say if I forfeited my last pick and everyone else still nominated a movie in round 12, I'd be first in the pecking order for the waiver wire.
If say six also did this, since he is first in order, he would be first in waiver wire.

This makes sense for me because there are still many movies not on the release schedule, and I'd rather have a first crack at one or two movies that get big news to be released in our season.

[Spectre]

I think everyone would be of that mindset though. There's nothing I'm going to pick in this round that I wouldn't be willing to wait to just add in free agency (especially given that I'm set to be #3 on the wire). I just think you'd end up with everyone skipping the final round.

[transformers2]

Completely agree Spectre. It would also be pointless to enact that rule because if everybody elected to skip the last round (which everybody would as its all Hail Mary picks at that point anyways), the waiver wire would remain exactly the same.

[BanksIsDaFuture]

One thing I didn't expect was a The Strangers monopoly.

Another TBA coming round - I'll take A24's We Live In Time and hope the star power of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh will light up awards season.

[Buscemi2]

Let's hope it's more Brooklyn and less The Goldfinch.

As for The Strangers, Walleye is going to hope every teenager shows up for the first to justify releasing the sequels wide. Otherwise, they'll probably be exclusive to WalleyeVision.

[transformers2]

One thing I didn't expect was a The Strangers monopoly.

Another TBA coming round - I'll take A24's We Live In Time and hope the star power of Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh will light up awards season.

Damn, I thought this one was pretty much a lock to slip to me. Crowley's recent track record isn't the best, but a romantic drama led by Garfield and Pugh could pop in the fall, especially if it ends up having awards buzz behind it. Great late round pick.

[Screen203]

I will choose Companion.

[Spectre]

If Chien can take something that's a longshot to make it into the game, so can I... I'll go with the Untitled Fourth Jordan Peele Film. Odds are I end up dropping this because it's in pre-production in May, but it's listed for TBD 2025 after getting delayed and he's filmed quickly enough before that there's a small chance he can make a March 2025 release date if he films this summer.

[numbersix]

Morning, all.

Flight Risk is indeed a... risk. Last night I dreamt I was at a wedding and Mel was there, and I grabbed him to ask him about the film. He was surprised I knew about it and said it was going great, then avoided me for the rest of the dream. Hope that's not a bad omen.

Conclave is a great pick. I wasn't sure if a story about a pope was going to pull in city audiences, and the cynical take may turn off the midlands masses, so was worried that even with some oscar nominations, it may not blow up. But it would have been next on my list to pick.

Never heard of Companion.

We Live in Time is an excellent choice. On paper it looks awardsy and A24 could push it wide. It has been on the shelf for a little bit, though, so I worry there's a problem with it. Could be actor avails for reshoots, could be the edit isn't good. Also, A24 are picking up way too many projects these days so a lot of them won't make it to theatres, or at least to any more than a dozen of them. That all said, this is one that should work for them.

Spiderverse 3 and Peele 4 are, to me, too ambitious. I don't see either hitting any date before summer 2025, so they're both wasted picks.

[Chienfantome]

I had never heard of Companion either.
Jordan Peele feels like a much bigger gamble than Spidey to me.
As for Flight Risk, I had it on my list, but I didn't want to pick it. Wahlberg's career is getting lower and lower, and coupling it with Gibson who's been nowhere for so long, and with Lionsgate having so much on their plate already...

[Buscemi2]

This was how Mel appeared in Six's dream.

[Spectre]

I’m cool wasting a pick here for a longshot. There will be films that come onto the calendar over the coming months that I like better than anything on the board now and my slate is front loaded for 2024 so I’m not expecting to lose as many films to moves as last year.

Peele got Us out in March after beginning filming in the prior July. And this Untitled has been planned out for a while so he may be ready to film soon… he’s so secretive that we never know what’s up with these. And Universal has a hole in their calendar in March. I’m fine flushing a pick on the chance.

[transformers2]

I'll dive into the vast pile of A24's undated titles and select Mother Mary. Jack Antonoff and Charli XCX are doing the music and the lead trio of Michaela Coel, Hunter Schafer and Anne Hathaway could be very appealing to the younger indie fan set.

As for Companion, it's a sci-fi horror flick starring Jack Quaid, Rupert Friend, Harvey Guillen, Sophie Thatcher, Megan Suri and Lukas Gage produced by Zach Cregger that WB/New Line acquired shortly after they picked up his follow up to Barbarian (Weapons-which starts shooting later this month). It just got an MPA rating last week and should release by the end of the season.

[undeadmonkey]

I really have no idea what to pick so i'll take Huntington and Riddick: Furya. who knows if they'll release in time, but maybe....

Mother Mary sounds really weird, i want to watch it

[transformers2]

I will wrap up my draft with A Real Pain and hope that Searchlight pushes it as their big awards movie this year.

On a related note, I have begun compiling the list of films to put on the wire and will have it up and running shortly after the final pick has been made.