Box Office Tycoon

THE PLAYBOOK

HOW TO PLAY

Box Office Tycoon is a fantasy game where smart programming beats big spending. Pick the right mix of blockbusters and hidden gems to maximize your weekly box office haul.

YOUR MULTIPLEX

  • ◆Each week, you manage an 8-screen digital multiplex.
  • ◆Fill your screens with films currently in wide release across the US.
  • ◆You must stay within a $300M weekly booking budget.
  • ◆You can book fewer than 8 films, but an empty screen earns nothing.

WEEKLY SCORING

  • ◆Each film's actual box office weekend gross (Friday–Sunday) becomes your score for that screen.
  • ◆Holiday weekends (i.e. Memorial Day, Labor Day) are scored Friday–Monday.
  • ◆Lineups lock every Friday morning at 2:00AM EST.
  • ◆Weekend Actuals are updated on Mondays.
  • ◆New weeks begin every Tuesday with a fresh slate of films to fill your multiplex with!

SEASONS

  • ◆SPRING — March through late May
  • ◆SUMMER — Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day
  • ◆FALL — September through November
  • ◆WINTER — December through February
  • ◆Each season tracks a cumulative score. At season's end, standings are finalized.

LEAGUES

  • ◆Create a private league and invite friends with a unique invite code.
  • ◆Join a public league if you don't have a group to play with.
  • ◆Each league has its own leaderboard tracking season-long standings.
  • ◆Multiple players can pick the same film — there's no draft.
  • ◆The global leaderboard ranks every player across all leagues.

WEEKLY BONUSES

  • ◆Starting in Summer 2026, three weekly bonuses reward clever programming and savvy film picks.
  • ◆Each bonus adds extra earnings per screen for the qualifying film in your lineup.
  • ◆Bonuses are calculated automatically after actuals are finalized each Monday.
📈BEST ROI BONUS — +$4M per screen
  • ▸Awarded to the film with the best Return On Investment.
  • ▸ROI is calculated by dividing the actual earnings of a film by the cost, then multiplying by 100.
  • ▸Example: a film that earned $40M divided by its cost of $10M means the ROI was 400%.
  • ▸The ROI Bonus award is applied to every screen in your multiplex that is populated with the awarded film.
⚒️IRON LEGS BONUS — +$3M per screen
  • ▸Awarded to the film with the best hold from the previous week.
  • ▸$3M bonus applied to each screen of the film that a user has chosen for their multiplex that week.
  • ▸Films moving from a limited (below 800 theaters) release to a wide release the following week will be ineligible for the Iron Legs bonus in its first week of wide release.
🛡️SURVIVAL BONUS — +$2M per screen
  • ▸Awarded to any films that have managed to remain in the Top 5 for a fourth consecutive week or more.
  • ▸Each week represents a new tier in which higher bonuses are awarded:
  • ▸Tier 1 (Week 4) — $2M bonus per screen
  • ▸Tier 2 (Week 5) — $2.5M bonus per screen
  • ▸Tier 3 (Week 6) — $3M bonus per screen
  • ▸Tier 4 (Week 7) — $3.5M bonus per screen
  • ▸Tier 5 (Week 8+) — $4M bonus per screen
🎬PERFECT CINEMA BONUS — +$4M flat
  • ▸Awarded to any player who sets a perfect cinema — the optimal 8-screen lineup that maximizes total earnings within the $300M budget.
  • ▸A flat $4M bonus is added directly onto the cinema's total score.
  • ▸The perfect lineup is calculated automatically as weekend estimates begin rolling in on Sunday night.
  • ▸The bonus is officially awarded by 11PM EST Monday night, based on the best available numbers at that time.
  • ▸A final verification run at 11PM EST Tuesday night accounts for any last actuals adjustments — if the perfect lineup changes, the bonus is adjusted accordingly.

PLAY TO WIN

  • ◆Win bragging rights in your leagues.
  • ◆1st place at season's end wins $100 to their local theater.
  • ◆In the case of a tie, those players will all submit a guess for the exact box office earnings of the week's newest release. Closest guess (over or under) wins it all!