Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to yet another installment of the Tip of the Week. After a one-week hiatus, I'm back to expound upon the significance of release dates — why (and when) they might change, and what implications they have for your studio. Most summer flicks are pretty firmly entrenched in their slots on the release schedule, but a few may be somewhat open to change. For us Moguls, that just means we've got to keep an extra close eye on these films. There are a few reasons a release date might get changed, but in any case, when a studio yanks a film off a date, it could spell trouble for your slate.

Greetings, Moguls! After a long, arduous winter/spring full of movies as flat as the Coke you left uncovered outside all day, summer is FINALLY here. It's time for another dose of superheroes, high powered sequels, and of course, the annual contribution from Pixar. The new May-July leagues have some very interesting prices, to be sure; whether you're in an Ultimate or Box Office league, it's possible to fit 2 or even 3 mega-blockbusters on your slate! But, in order to do that, you'll have to reach into the bargain basement for some potentially low-priced steals. Have no fear, however! As a special kickoff to the summer season, this week I am expanding my analysis to bring you: The Summer Bargain Basement Spectacular, a countdown of the best 10 films in each league type, Ultimate Movie Moguls and Box Office Moguls priced at $5 or less.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the latest Tip of the Week. In order to make way for the special "shenanigans" I mentioned in my last column, I'm covering the Studs and Duds (and Wild Cards) of May a little bit before the beginning of the month — but that just means you'll have that much more time to contemplate making some changes to your slate, should you decide to. It also means I get to talk about a whopping 15 films! Some of these, especially the studs, are pretty darn expensive, yes, but the price tag is high because come May, moviegoers will contradict Shakespeare (or is it Shrykespeare?) and make much ado about them. Without any further ado on my part, then, let's get started!

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the latest Tip of the Week. Upcoming summer blockbuster fare ranges (as it always does) from sequels and franchise continuations to book and TV show adaptations, and heck, there are even a few original ideas out there — but all of them can be boiled down into one of two categories, depending on whether or not the movie's star power is part of its box office appeal. Some films sell themselves chiefly on the story concept, or the source material, or even a director or producer.

Greetings, Moguls! Now that April-June leagues have begun, it's high time to look a little more in-depth at June's offerings. After all, even though June is the last month of the current season, there might still be some cutoff bargains to be had. If you so choose, you can shell out the big bucks for Kung Fu Panda, at $37 in Ultimate leagues and $39 in Box Office, but no other film opening in June costs more than $21 in Ultimate (Wall-E) or $14 in Box Office (Wall-E again). This week I'm looking at six of June's mini-tentpole releases — the ones besides Kung Fu Panda — to determine which of them are big time values for their price, and which ones are just a lonely mirage during the sweltering summer.

Hello once again, and welcome to the latest edition of Bard's Eye View, the first class cabin of the Fantaverse from which I act as your eye in the sky, peering through the hazy clouds to offer my skillful analysis on all of Hollywood's cinematic attempts to entertain us. Whether you're a coach class traveler en route to a family vacation spot, or a high rollin' sonofagun with your own private cabin, welcome aboard. Please make sure your carry-ons are stowed in the overhead compartment, and that all electronic devices are turned off during takeoff and landing. Oh, and watch out for all the mutha(FILTER ENGAGED)ing snakes.

Greetings, Moguls! 2008 has certainly brought its share of surprises thus far and, for a few of those, the film's theater count has been part of the surprise. Take, for example, Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour, which rang up a $31 million opening weekend at just under 700 locations. Jumper didn't grab that much green even at almost five times as many theaters. Or how about Under the Same Moon winning the PTA title this past weekend despite a theater count over 250 — something that would usually be disastrous for a PTA hopeful.

Greetings, Moguls! It's that time of year again — the first real box office whoppers of 2008, this summer's May Monsters, are just around the bend. Even in the new March-May leagues, some carry steep prices: Speed Racer will set you back $57 in Box Office Moguls leagues, for example. Imagine what the prices in April-June and May-July leagues are going to be like! Still, might you find benefit from using half of your funds on one movie? Is the field so bare that you've got to pick up a May Monster to have a chance at victory in your March-May leagues? Here's a look at May's four tentpole releases: Iron Man, Speed Racer, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Which ones (if any) are worth their enormous price tags?

Greetings, Moguls! As it turns out, I was both right and wrong about 10,000 B.C. It didn't totally flop, but it did make less than the projected $45 million on opening weekend. So I guess you could say I had at least some semblance of reason (and correct ... ness?), and I can roll with that. It's all about small victories, my friends. Small victories.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the Tip of the Week. If you started off a brand new March-May slate with Semi-Pro, then my condolences. And my apologies as well; go ahead and give me a technical foul, because I heartily recommended Will Ferrell's basketball bomb in my February Studs and Duds column. Then again, very few people saw such underperformance coming. This week, I'll examine the March Madness (no, not that kind) that coming weeks will bring. Can Horton Hears a Who become the biggest film of the first quarter? Is there any hope left for Asian horror remakes? And can the Martin Lawrence overachievement train be stopped? (Answers: yes, no, and maybe.) As per usual with this column format, I've outlined a stud, a dud, and a wild card for each March weekend:

Greetings, Moguls! I apologize for the delay in writing this Tip of the Week — what necessitated going two weeks between columns was increased demand for my superhero services. See, my help was needed to save a city from mortal peril ... or at least, from massive amounts of snow. Snow seems like a small problem, sure, but so much of it accumulated over the past week-and-a-half that the city declared a snow emergency! And hence, here I was, drawn into the picture, lending my heroic efforts so that the metropolis might emerge from the blanketed snow and be able to function once again.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the Tip of the Week. Many of you may be excited to have found some cheap revenue sources in the current season. Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour has delivered $53 million thus far, and Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins opened to $16 million this past weekend, yet neither film had an Ultimate Movie Moguls price tag of more than $10! (Okay, to be fair, Hannah Montana was only a bargain in the January season, but all the same, its box-office gross, 8 Top 5 points, and 9 PTA points are stellar contributions.) Roscoe has, of course, also earned some PTA and Top 5 points to boot. In that respect, the performance of these films has been golden.

Greetings, Moguls! Hannah Montana and Eli Manning are the undisputed champions of this past weekend. It remains to be seen, however, which films will nab the crown over each of the next four weekends. Will it be a treasure-hunting couple, a teleporter, a man with a magnetic brain? (Could it be all three, in succession?) Whether you're looking to perhaps get a head-start in your February league and maybe win a championship of your own, or even if you just stumbled upon this article because it contains the phrase "Hannah Montana and Eli Manning" — she's 15 and he's engaged, so, no, they're not dating, or at least not that I know of — here's a weekend-by-weekend breakdown for the rest of February of one guaranteed winner, one film that will fail to meet expectations, and one that could go either way.

Greetings, Moguls! February is nearly upon us — will it be an even bigger wasteland than January? Or will something jump out to a rip-roaring opening weekend and surprise us all? Only time will tell. To help you navigate the potentially tricky landscape of upcoming February-April leagues, however, I'm here with a list of five belated New Year's resolutions that will help you improve your Moguls performance this year. Even though it may be too late to, say, avoid picking up Cloverfield, these tactics can certainly be applied to future seasons. After all, knowledge is invaluable, right? Proving, also, that even superheroes can have an off day once in a while (ask Hancock; he knows too), I'll also give you Mister Informative's Top 5 Moguls Do-Overs of 2007 — some slate choices I made this past year that, given the opportunity, I'd certainly do differently.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the Tip of the Week. With the January-March leagues just getting under way, it's prime time to take a look at some of the potential "bargain basement" picks for the new season. Some of it might be scraping the bottom of the barrel, I'll admit, but there are also higher-priced choices with which you could do much worse. I've compiled 5 Ultimate Movie Moguls picks and 5 options for Box Office Moguls leagues, and I've also thrown in a film for each category that I think SHOULD be priced at $5 or less. (The theme of this column seems to be March 28; among the following 12 movies, there's a quintet of releases currently set for that day.) Maybe Cloverfield has devoured most of your budget (in addition to most of New York City), or maybe Will Ferrell is demanding a high salary for being a Semi-Pro. Or maybe you just need a way to spend those last few leftover dollars. In either case, this list is just what you're looking for. Dig in!

Greetings, Moguls! Though January is a typically slower time for American cinema, not everything debuting this winter is required to have the quality of Meet the Spartans. There's at least one bright spot — the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, taking place this year from Jan. 17-27. And while some of the films being screened at Sundance might be relatively obscure now, they could end up as intriguing Fantasy Moguls picks (mostly in Ultimate Movie Moguls leagues), worth keeping an eye out for down the road.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to the first 2008 Tip of the Week. The barren January weather often spills over into the nation's megaplexes, leaving cinephiles with very little new material to appreciate. Oh, there's new material alright, but much of it tends to be of lesser quality. There are many films that simply get  'dumped' in January because, well, it's as good a time as any. Still, there are some secret weapons, and even a few smashes, to be had among January's offerings. Now, their contributions certainly won't be equal to your December studs (and may not even top your December wild cards) but there are lowered expectations here, and the pricing tends to follow suit. Thus, it might be easier to find that sleeper hit, and your guaranteed successes won't suck up quite as much of your available funds. Here's my week-by-week breakdown of January, with a stud, a dud, and a wild card for each weekend:

Greetings, Moguls! I'd greet you in my usual, more booming superhero voice, but shhh! Be vewwy, vewwy, quiet! I'm hunting wabbits ... er, chipmunks. The big surprise at America's multiplexes over the weekend was undoubtedly the spectacular debut of Alvin and the Chipmunks — those who had the foresight to put it on their slates were treated to a whopping $44 million opening weekend and a solid second-place finish. To be honest, that's about three times as much revenue as I'd expected for opening weekend. And all that for just $12 (Ultimate Movie Moguls) or $17 (Box Office Moguls), depending on which league type you prefer!

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to another Tip of the Week. With the disappointing results for The Golden Compass last weekend, you may feel that your slate is doomed from the beginning, especially given the fantasy non-juggernaut's $30-plus price tag. But, with some careful money management, even a $25 million opening weekend from The Golden Compass might not hurt you too badly. I'm here with a list of the 10 best movies priced at $5 or less in December-February leagues, 5 each for both Ultimate Movie Moguls and Box Office Moguls players. Placing a few in your studio might free up some cash to "upgrade" some of your other picks, or perhaps you're still putting together your lineup and just want to find a good way to spend those last few bucks. Either way, this list should (hopefully) be useful to you. Onward!

Greetings, Moguls! The huge holiday movies are just around the corner — and with them, of course, the inevitable cold spell that comes with snow and ice ... and sleet and slush and frost. (You get the picture. Coincidentally, I once changed my name tag at my non-superhero day job to say Jack Phrawst for a day, and nobody got the joke. But that's beside the point.) Of course, if you're in Australia, then I might seem completely off my rocker; I'd imagine the weather is mighty nice 'round this time of year, right? Same if you live in, say, Arizona. Then again, perhaps you can replicate the effect by having a UPS driver deliver something to your house. He'll come so quickly, even from a wintry area, that the snow won't have time to melt. (Remember those commercials? Really, that's the reference I'm making; I'm not on UPS's payroll, or at least not that I know of.)

Greetings, Moguls! With the launch of the December-February season on the immediate horizon, it's high time to take another look at what December has to offer, in a brand new Tip of the Week. Since new leagues run through February, all December movies will have 2-3 months to showcase everything they've got, so there's no need to worry about getting your production cut off at the end of the season. With that in mind, I've done a weekend-by-weekend breakdown of December releases, choosing a Stud (guaranteed hit), a Dud (choose it at your own risk!) and a Wild Card (could go either way) for each week. Use it as a primer for building your new slates, if you so choose — or maybe you'll end up going, "How'd he get his superpowers, anyway? Rolling in toxic waste? 'Cause that doesn't seem very smart, and neither do these picks ... " Anyway, the list:

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to yet another Tip of the Week. I often highlight films on extreme ends of the pricing spectrum, whether it's pointing out the overpriced bombs or helping you find those really cheap sleepers. This week, however, I'm trying something a little different. Think about it like your Thanksgiving meal. You don't want to gorge yourself on just one food item, do you? You've got to have the mashed potatoes, the pumpkin pie ... not JUST the turkey.

Greetings, Moguls! This week marks the release of Beowulf — if you haven't heard anything about this movie, then is your last name Van Winkle, by chance? Perhaps most noteworthy is that it will show in IMAX theaters and in digital 3D in addition to being unspooled via more conventional methods. (After seeing The Nightmare Before Christmas rerelease in 3D, I'd definitely recommend the experience if you don't mind the extra $1 or $2 surcharge.) That fact alone may help Beowulf's grosses amidst already strong tracking numbers — but will it bring in enough money (and stay in the Top 5 long enough) to make its fat price tag worth it?

Greetings, Moguls! Today I'm continuing to channel my inner Tarantino, bringing you Vol. 2 of the Bargain Basement Spectacular, focusing this time on films in the Ultimate Movie Moguls game. If I do say so myself, however, I think I've got a leg up on ol' Quentin (or at least a quicker production schedule); the second installment in this saga is right before your eyes, and you haven't even had to wait six months for it (a la Kill Bill)! But then again, if we were to have a film directing contest, I'm pretty sure the Q.T. would play the part of the Boston Red Sox, and I, the Colorado Rockies.

Greetings, Moguls! For the launch of the new November-January season, Fantasy Moguls is giving everything a little extra oomph — we've got the holiday glutton movies ready to take in cash like it's Thanksgiving dinner, and the smaller releases that can be like perfectly crafted desserts, with high user ratings and gobs of PTA points. It's a new season of epic proportions! (And no Epic Movies, thankfully.) You've been hearing from all the columnists that this week will feature some special, extended columns, including the return of our good friend Nicodemus, and now, ladies and gentlemen, that time is upon us.

Greetings, Moguls! As promised, this week's piece is a feature on how early film reviews might fit into your Fantasy Moguls plotting and scheming. Trailers (or previews, or coming attractions, whichever term you prefer) are a great way of judging how a movie looks before it comes out, and early reviews fall under that same heading. Only, with early reviews, instead of just getting to see the most marketable bits of the film, you get to hear from someone who's already seen the whole thing. But should you take them into account? Do bad early reviews mean the film will perform below expectations? What if there aren't any early reviews? Answers to all this, and more, inside the latest Tip of the Week! (Cue ominous/suspenseful theme music.)

Greetings, Moguls, and welcome to the latest Tip of the Week. The new October-December leagues are officially getting heatedly competitive, and after the past two weekends, I'm sure everyone is ready to declare The Heartbreak Kid a bona fide Moguls stink bomb. It may have even torpedoed some slates right off the bat ... ouch! With a meager $25 million in ticket sales and only 5 Top 5 points (it's sure to drop out of the Top 5 this coming weekend), anyone who paid $36 in Ultimate leagues (or an even higher $41 in the Box Office game) must certainly feel a bit ripped off.

Greetings, Moguls! Welcome to a back-on-schedule Tip of the Week. (Instead of Thursday or Friday, it's back on Tuesday. It feels ... comfortable, like returning home after a long vacation, or throwing on those old, worn-in workout pants that your wife wants to throw away, but you refuse because they're just so darn comfy. Wait, what's that? Dispense with the lame analogies? Fair enough.) Since the new October-December season has just been launched and begins this weekend, it opens up a whole new month of movies for Fantasy Moguls analysis. So, to capitalize, I'll take a look at nine December offerings that'll provide you the best value for the price: for from the Box Office Moguls game, four from Ultimate Movie Moguls, and one that's a good value in both games. These films aren't necessarily the best bargains — as you'll quickly find out with my first choice — but rather, the films that I think will provide you the most bang for your Moguls buck. (Stay away from using so many cliché phrases? Got it. Let's rock and roll. [Wink.])

Greetings, Moguls, and welcome to the latest Tip of the Week. Choosing the movies that comprise your slate is, as we all know, no easy task. Critics' reviews, performance during release in another country or at a film festival, and columns outlining industry tracking data all helpful in shaping your picks. Arguably, however, one of the best litmus tests to determine whether a film belongs on your slate is to watch its trailer (also called a "preview," or sometimes a "coming attraction") and decide what you think. With some movies, a trailer is the only way to know or guess about the film's quality and judge how likely it is that the film will appeal to a broad range of moviegoers.

Greetings, Moguls, and welcome once again to the Tip of the Week. This time around, I'm taking another look at PTA, the category that's arguably the hardest nut to crack for Ultimate Movie Moguls players. While the box office and Top 5 categories are closely intertwined and relatively easy to forecast, and you can see low-scoring IMDb films coming from a mile away, striking gold with your PTA choices is, well, just as difficult as striking actual gold was back in the 1840s. (Except that with Fantasy Moguls, there aren't any pickaxes to deal with ... or at least I hope that there aren't.)

Greetings, Moguls, and welcome once again to the Tip of the Week. September-November leagues are under way, and as the competition in those games heats up, so will competition for this year's hot gift items ... you know, as we get close to the holiday shopping season. (Or, if you're my local Hobby Lobby, we're already there, and you've already stocked Christmas trees, ornaments, wreaths — the whole shebang. Why was I at Hobby Lobby, you may ask? Trust me, it was work-related.)

Greetings, Moguls, and welcome to the Tip of the Week. If you're new to Fantasy Moguls, then you may be looking for ways to gain a foothold in your leagues — and if that's the case, then you've come to the right place. With the launch of a new season this week, there's still time to make last minute tweaks before your picks (the early ones anyway) are locked into your lineup. To help you out, I've channeled my inner John Ritter and compiled a list of Simple Rules for Winning Fantasy Moguls (only I've got 10 instead of eight, and if this column is ever the basis for a sitcom, then you KNOW that television has run out of ideas.) We'll count them down Letterman-style — or E!'s 101 Most Outrageous Celebrity (Fill in the blank)-style, if you prefer — leaving the most crucial/most important piece of advice for last, naturally. Onward!