What is Box Office Game?
The Box Office Game picks a single weekend from the last few decades of cinema and asks you to name the five films that earned the most money that weekend. You do not start empty-handed: for each spot you see clues such as the studio, how much it took that weekend and how much it had earned in total so far. From there it is part movie trivia and part detective work. A huge total with a small weekend figure suggests a hit that has been out for a while; a big opening weekend for a smaller studio might be a surprise success. Each correct film earns points, and the clues are rich enough that even casual filmgoers can usually get a few. The idea came from fans of a movie podcast, and it has become a daily ritual for many film lovers. It suits anyone who enjoys remembering what was playing at the cinema in a given year.
How to play
- You get one weekend from box-office history and five empty spots.
- Use the clues for each spot, such as studio and earnings, to guess the film.
- Each correct film earns points. Try to name all five.
Quick facts
- Typical time
- 2–5 min
- Difficulty
- Medium–hard
- Price
- Free.
- Account
- Not needed.
- Past puzzles
- Unlocked by a donation of any size on Ko-fi.
- On a phone
- Works in your phone's browser. Nothing to install.
Tips to get better
- Start with the date. The month matters as much as the year. Summer means blockbusters and sequels. November and December mean family films and award contenders. October means horror.
- Compare the two figures. If the weekend takings equal the total, the film has just opened. If the total is many times bigger, it's been out for weeks, so think of the hits from the month before.
- Let the studio narrow the genre. A Disney release at the end of the year is very often animated. Small distributors mean horror films and independents.
- Name the number one first. On a big weekend the top film is usually a famous blockbuster. Once you have it, the rest of that season comes back to you.
- Think about what was showing, not what's remembered. Places three to five are often comedies and thrillers that have since been forgotten. Think of who the big stars were that year.
Who it's for
The Box Office Game is for film fans with a head for dates: people who remember what was showing the summer they left school. It's as much deduction as memory, and the money clues are cleverer than they first look. It leans on American releases, so films that were bigger elsewhere may be missing. Younger players will find the older weekends tough.
