The Turkey Weekend Box Office Haul, Predicate Style

Movie studios usually look forward to Thanksgiving Weekend - most people can't take four days straight with their families, so an hour or two of mindless entertainment starts to look pretty good by Saturday evening.

This year's Turkey Weekend haul? Not so impressive for the studios or for our Fantasy Moguls. But at least all six production companies vying for the top spot at Predimount Studios are finally on the board:

MandaMax's "Happy Feet" once again managed to be the best counter-espionage out there, edging Bond flick "Casino Royale" by 7 million dollars this weekend and cracking the 100-million-dollar mark in total receipts. While the combination of Borat and Casino Royale's 94 million dollar haul have left your commissioner's Oso Films on top for now, MandaMax is poised to leap. She's currently holding on to third place, but with her big projected earner "Night at the Museum" still to come, her position is looking good.

In second place but also nervously eyeing MandaMax (and the rest of the competitors) is Vivid Miah Video, who has put together a solid 138 million total box office. Unless "Santa Clause 3" can continue to earn through Christmas, though, slasher "Hostel 2" will have to do very well indeed to catapult him to the top.

Cecil B. DeStankow is also drooling over the top spot, sitting in a very solid fourth, eagerly awaiting the release of Apocolypto. Stankow would like to remind the viewing public to forgive Mel Gibson his faults and please go see the movie.

byrne's Moment of Inertia Productions suffered a bit of a setback with the disappointing take of "Deck the Halls," leaving MOI trailing back in 5th. As the holiday season wears on, though, holiday movie business may pick up.

And finally, our last studio, PlasticJesus' Ari Fucking Gold's Movie Extravaganza, whose full name I am never going to type again, is now at long last on the board. "Deja Vu" proved to be a decent middle-of-the-road performer, bringing in 29 million during the Tryptophan Weekend. PJ is hoping for "Charlotte's Web" to warm hearts and fill his pockets. If not, Ari Fucking Gold will be Ari Not-Very-Much-At-All Gold.

Only one studio is opening a film this week, MandaMax's "The Christian Fleecer," er... I mean "The Nativity Story." December 8th and 15th will see a flurry of Predimount releases, so I'll be back then with a recap of our fantasy game about this fantasy town.