Those two films, however, are exceptions to trends that I'll be discussing today. Generally speaking, a film's theater count will have a lot of bearing on how it performs, especially when we're dealing with lower numbers. To give you a potential leg up on the rest of your competition, I've divided theater counts into six ranges, and I'll tell you which types of films fall where, and what each category means with regards to both league types. And since theater count information can often be elusive, I'll also tell you where to look for it. Onward!

In my opinion, the best place to find theater count information is Box Office Mojo. Their Release Schedule section includes estimated theater counts, and it is updated around Wednesday or Thursday of each week with actual numbers. That "Wide" you see next to Leatherheads right now will turn into a more specific number late next week. The estimated numbers may be just guesses, or even an early indication from the studio as to how wide they want to release their film. (Theater/screen availability may vary depending on the performance of recently released movies, or exhibition contracts a theater may have with another film/studio.) Once weekly bookings are finalized for multiplexes nationwide, then the actual numbers are compiled and updated. Another indispensable section of the site is its Theater Counts section, which lets you track which films already in release — as well as the newcomers —  as losing or adding theaters each week.

I also get an email every week (usually Thursday afternoon, in plenty of time to make a Fantasy Moguls slate switch if needed!) containing final theater counts from Box Office Mojo. Don't worry, it's far from an exclusive privilege: Anyone with a Box Office Mojo account can sign up to have such messages or notifications delivered to them. Keeping abreast of theater counts in such a manner is a perfect way to determine whether your little PTA gem might not be so little after all.

Theater counts tend to fall into six categories:

10 or Fewer Locations: These are the ones with the best chances at PTA victory. In Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues, movies with a theater count at or below 10 can be extremely valuable. Take, for example, Love Songs, which opened at two theaters and garnered four PTA points last weekend. Films like this are playing in such select locations that their screenings are almost bound to be full, especially because the exclusive engagements are likely to be in bigger cities — New York and Los Angeles are frequently the only places a small movie will be showing on its first weekend in release. Since the old 10-screen equalizer rule for determining PTA is long gone from Fantasy Moguls's calculations, there's no need to worry that a movie might be "too small."

In Box Office Moguls leagues, such tiny releases are almost always priced at $2, because they won't net you much of anything. Yes, Juno opened at 7 locations and has gone on to make $141 million, but again, that's an exception. The majority of sub-10 theater movies won't end up making you any more than $5 million, even if they do expand. Persepolis, for example, opened at 7 locations and wound up with only $4 million in domestic gross. (Its PTA contributions were huge, though.) You can almost always find a better source of cheap revenue in the bargain bin, rather than holding out hope that a movie opening at 10 or fewer theaters will eventually expand wide enough to make a dent.
Upcoming film that could fall into this category: The Flight of the Red Balloon (April 2)

Between 11-99 Locations: There's still a lot of PTA potential here, but it can be a bit more of an uphill battle. From a Moguls perspective, having a film open somewhat limited reduces the possibility of theaters sitting empty somewhere in Middleofnowhere, Iowa (or Montana, or Idaho, or whatever ... no offense meant to Iowa specifically) while maintaining the potential for sold-out showings at all venues. You might, therefore, reap a slightly higher gross, but with an equally impressive PTA. Often, you'll find films from more "powerhouse" indie distributors in this category (like Focus Features, which released Atonement to 32 locations back in December, and In Bruges to 28 locations this February).

Films that are angling for — or have already garnered — awards consideration also appear frequently in this category (though they also start at 10 or fewer locations quite often), like The Kite Runner, which opened at 35 locations, or The Bucket List, at 16. Thus, you still won't have to worry too much that you won't bring home any PTA points. In Box Office leagues, the crossover potential is often bigger — Atonement has earned $50 million, for example. And though they may cost more than $2 or $3, picks from this category will more than likely still be in the bargain bin or, at the very least, not terribly far from it. Beware, however — just as sub-10 location movies can eventually expand wider and make a lot of money, so can these middling movies stay small throughout their theatrical runs.
Upcoming film that could fall into this category: Where in the World is Osama bin Laden? (April 18)

Between 100-999 Locations: Also known as purgatory, or Where Otherwise Promising Films Go to Die. A theater count in this range can be the kiss of death. Just ask Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show (962 locations) or Be Kind Rewind (808 locations). It's not quite wide enough for a film to be truly successful from a box office perspective, but not small enough to have a sterling PTA. You might find the occasional Under the Same Moon in this category, and still win some PTA, or the occasional Borat ($26 million at 837 locations in its first weekend), but by and large, movies with theater counts in this range will provide middling results at best. It provides the appearance that the studio is neither confident enough in their film's appeal to cinephiles at select locations, nor in its appeal to the masses, so they just dump it somewhere in between.

A recent example is Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, which despite the small-studio power of Focus Features (which I realize is an arm of a big studio, Universal) and a cast that included Amy Adams and Frances McDormand, failed to scratch out even a single PTA point, largely due to the fact that it opened at 536 theaters. While 800 screens is often considered "wide," that doesn't always mean "everywhere," and it rarely means your film will be a breakout hit.
Upcoming film that could fall into this category: Street Kings (April 11) — I'm thinking it will fall between 600 and 999 by virtue of the fact that it's from Fox Searchlight, which rarely (again, Juno being a recent exception) gets films released very wide. The Darjeeling Limited only got as wide as 698 locations, Sunshine to 461, and Waitress to 707. All of those were Fox Searchlight properties as well, so you can see where I'm coming from here.

Between 1,000 and 1,999 Locations: Again, you'll find a lot of disappointments here, but also some potential breakouts. For example, Tyler Perry arguably got his ongoing streak started with Diary of a Mad Black Woman, which managed to reach the status of No. 1 movie in the country despite opening at just 1,483 theaters. And it may just be coincidence, but you'll often find wider Miramax releases falling in this range, like Gone Baby Gone (1,713 locations). They release some of their films small (Becoming Jane, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood), but when they go wide, they often secure between 1,000 and 1,999 locations. Beware, however, of movies like Doomsday (1,936 locations), Penelope (1,196), or Witless Protection (1,333). Again, movies like these may just get thrown out there because the studio figures they might as well get what they can out of them.

And yes, it's sometimes hard to differentiate between the films that are dumped in this range and the ones that aren't, but if you use your best judgment, you should be just fine. (Really, did anyone actually expect Witless Protection to succeed?) In Ultimate leagues, you'll rarely get any PTA from releases that fall into this category, but you might squeeze some decent box office and maybe a few Top 5 points out of the deal, especially if it comes out on an otherwise fairly weak weekend. The same logic applies for Box Office leagues; just beware of potentially inflated price tags. After all, there's only so much that a middling release from this range can do.
Upcoming film that could fall into this category: Smart People (April 11) — It would follow the Miramax theory ...

Between 2,000 and 2,999 Locations: Many wide releases fall here. The big blockbusters will have larger theater counts, but a lot of slower-season fare (spring and fall) or otherwise second-tier releases grab a spot in this category. College Road Trip (2,706 locations, second fiddle to 10,000 B.C.) is an example. Showing on this amount of screens doesn't necessarily mean that a film won't be successful, just that it won't be as big as your more typical blockbusters, so it doesn't need to go as wide. PTA points are easier to come by than in the 1,000-1,999 category, but harder than the super-saturated wide releases, since those have high theater counts to satisfy larger audiences. Box Office prospects aren't really diminished; Meet the Browns cruised to a $20 million opening weekend despite opening at the bottom end of this range (2,006 locations).

Picks that fall into this category won't (and shouldn't) anchor your slate, but they could be nice $10-20 choices (perhaps even cheaper — like The Love Guru or What Happens in Vegas for $8 in new April-June Ultimate leagues). Especially if you need a box office boost, and potentially some Top 5 points — depending, of course, on what sort of competition they face.
Upcoming film that could fall into this category: Prom Night (April 11) — It may be the biggest movie coming out that weekend, but remember, it's April. The release almost certainly won't be wider than 3,000, by any means. Plus, it's from Screen Gems, a branch of Sony that generally releases their "less important" movies. (We won't even go into how most of Screen Gems's films turn out crappy ...) If Sony intended Prom Night to go wider, it'd be under the Columbia label, most likely, as Made of Honor, You Don't Mess With the Zohan and Hancock all are.

3,000 Locations or More: While it applies to the previous category as well, here is an important place to make the distinction between THEATER counts and SCREEN counts. We often use the terms interchangeably, but they really aren't the same. Because of multiple bookings at the same location, a movie playing at 3,200 theaters may actually be playing on 5,000 screens (or more)! This is especially true for big summer and winter blockbusters. The widest opening of all time belongs to Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which debuted at 4,362 theaters, but assuredly on more than 6,000 screens nationwide. What this means is that PTA numbers can potentially be HUGE. Remember, it's Per-THEATRE-Average, not Per-Screen-Average. So, if every show sells out all weekend, and the theater is showing the movie on, say, three screens, all the revenue from those three screens counts as just one location when calculating PTA.

Thus, you'll often find that the big releases will not only make waves at the box office, but on the PTA charts as well: Horton Hears A Who! earned 5 PTA points on its first weekend even though it was playing at 3,954 locations. The downside, of course, is that films released so wide will almost certainly have big price tags. In general, they'll provide a lot of help to either an Ultimate slate or a Box Office one. Upcoming film that could fall in this category: Leatherheads (April 4) — This one may scrape together 3,000 locations, but if it doesn't, I don't think we'll see anything that wide until Iron Man (May 2), and that will more than likely go above 4,000 theaters.

Now you're theater count savvy! I'll return next week with my report on the studs and duds of April. Until then, good luck!

Mister Informative was right about the Hannah Montana movie, and don't you forget it! His next column is being released to more than 3,000 browsers and could ring up some solid PTA and Top 5 numbers. Contact him at misterinformative@gmail.com.