The Digital Cinema Media Fantasy Film League – and the winner is…

The sky has a more frequent greyish tinge and rumours abound that at least one of the major retailers already has Christmas decorations for sale. Summer is officially over, which also heralds the end of the inaugural DCM Fantasy Film League. Just in case this is news to you, Autumn starts on 1 September and we asked participants to pick a selection of films from different categories that hit cinemas this summer. We then collated the opening week box office performance for each film and whoever had the highest total at the end of the summer wins a five star cinema experience in London. It might sound simple, but predicting film performance rarely is and this summer has definitely sprung a few surprises.

Perhaps unsurprisingly the biggest opening week came in August with the return of the four Rudge Park alumni in The Inbetweeners 2. It had the benefit of opening slap bang in the middle of the school holidays and it proved that public appetite for the characters hadn’t waned. Just behind was May’s biggest blockbuster and the most popular pick in the category with 211 people plumping for it, X-Men: Days of Future Past. Once again, it had the benefit of opening in a school holiday (make a note for next year) and it also helped that it delivered on the big budget spectacle front. Only just behind was Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, which didn’t have the benefit of opening during the holidays but was helped by the fact it was an absolute corker and the best reviewed blockbuster of the year. It still went big and is one of only three films this year so far to cross the £30m mark. Other strong performing blockbusters include Guardians of the Galaxy and Transformers 4: Age of Extinction.

In the major release category, Maleficent, another title that benefitted from opening in the school holidays, came out on top and 22 Jump Street took the comedy crown. Of the less mirthful films, Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie was a surprisingly strong performer and, more recently, Lucy made a late bid for the top spot but fell just short. The family category this summer may not have been the strongest but there always looked like one clear winner and How To Train Your Dragon 2 lived up to its pre-billing as the season’s big family film. It was also the most selected title of all the films, with 256 people picking it, however, with its unusual release strategy it didn’t rake in as much as was probably expected. Postman Pat was the next best performer, followed by Planes 2: Fire and Rescue.

In the arthouse category, it’s no surprise to see Richard Linklater’s Boyhood near the top. It’s the best reviewed film of the year to date, currently scoring a remarkable 100 on Metacritic and is a hot favourite for awards come January. Grace of Monaco may have been one of the worst reviewed films of the year to date but its status as a medium-sized fish (film) in a small pond (category) meant that it would have still been an excellent choice for anyone who selected it. Aside from those two, Frank and The Wind Rises both came out on the same day and either would have been a solid selection.

Despite all these success stories, there’s no getting away from the fact there were a few high profile disappointments. The biggest of which was Jupiter Ascending, mainly because it moved release date at late notice and is now out in February. If it was one of your selections, rotten luck but such is the risk when selecting specific films. Of the films that did make it into cinemas, Godzilla was the lowest performing blockbuster but only a silly person would call its performance a disappointment. In the major release category, A Million Ways To Die In The West was a popular choice but it couldn’t replicate the success of Ted. In the same category, Sin City: A Dame To Kill For was probably the most notable disappointment. The first Sin City is highly regarded, currently at number 173 on the IMDB Top 250, but the fans of that film didn’t seem to be as keen to see a sequel.

So who was the winner, I hear you ask…?

The person who ended up with the highest final figure is Jessica Street, Insight Manager at Manning Gottlieb OMD. Jessica astutely selected The Inbetweeners 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes in the blockbuster category, along with Bad Neighbours, Maleficent, 22 Jump Street and How To Train Your Dragon 2 from the other categories.

Congratulations Jessica!

Final table below: