Movie Fantasy League 2026 Kickoff

Welcome to ZEJ Review’s third season of the Movie Fantasy League, and a particularly warm welcome to all our newcomers! Excited to have you, and loving the variety of movies you brought to our competition. My sister, Maddie, has jumped out to an early lead with her pick of Verity, which currently has the highest box office total of any movie since scoring commenced. Mind you, we have no points yet given for awards or critical ratings, so the current box office figures are all we have to go by. The Gotham Awards Nominations are this weekend, so we will get our first dose of those points imminently!

MFL Season 5 Draft Breakdown

Across the league, 96 selections were made spanning 54 different movies.

Most Popular Movies

• Dune: Part Three — $40 — 6 teams
• The Invite — $10 — 5 teams
• You Can See Everything — $3 — 5 teams
• Godzilla Minus Zero — $15 — 4 teams
• La Bola Negra — $20 — 4 teams
• Wild Horse Nine — $20 — 4 teams
• I Play Rocky — $5 — 4 teams

Dune: Part Three is the consensus blockbuster pick, appearing on exactly half of the league's rosters. At $40 per selection, that accounts for just over 20% of all league spending.

The Biggest Gambles

While half the league invested in Dune, there were a couple other big spenders.

TheFearedDoc (Daddy) made the biggest two-film investment in the league, spending a whopping $70 on Dune: Part Three ($40) and Avengers: Doomsday ($30). He's the only competitor to draft Avengers.

Coach (Clay) is somehow the only one who selected The Odyssey, the most expensive movie in the entire player pool at $45.

The Contrarians vs. the Consensus

Of the 54 different films selected, 37 were drafted by exactly one competitor.

Nobody embraced that strategy more than Coach (Clay), who drafted six movies that nobody else selected.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, E and I's (Z) were the least unique, sharing 6 of their 8 selections. I guess we're married for a reason. :)

Without further ado, let's take a look at this year's rosters:

MFL Season 5 — Current Standings

* Unique selection — drafted by only one team

1. Maddawg2020 (Maddie) - 119 points

• Project Hail Mary^* — $35
• The Social Reckoning — $20 = 8 points
• Godzilla Minus Zero — $15
• The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — $10
• Verity^* — $8 = 111 points
• Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom^* — $5
• Wuthering Heights^* — $5
• Unabomber — $2

2. Forgetful Movie Enthusiast (Tre) - 25 points

• Digger^* — $25 = 17 points
• Werwulf — $20
• The Social Reckoning — $20 = 8 points
• Godzilla Minus Zero — $15
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day — $8
• Resident Evil^* — $5
• The Drama^* — $5
• Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man^* — $1

3. WinOurWay (Uncle Matt) - 22 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• Werwulf — $20
• Sense and Sensibility^* — $10 = 7 points
• Being Heumann — $8
• Misty Green^* — $8
• Bucking Fastard^* — $5
• NAZA^* — $5
• You Can See Everything — $3 = 15 points

T-4. ecrhodes (E) - 15 points

• La Bola Negra — $20
• Wild Horse Nine — $20
• The Debut — $20
• Obsession^* — $15
• The Invite — $10
• Wildwood — $10
• You Can See Everything — $3 = 15 points
• Once Upon a Time in Harlem — $1

T-4. Miggle (Miguel) - 15 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• Primetime^* — $20
• Godzilla Minus Zero — $15
• Wildwood — $10
• The Only Living Pickpocket in New York^* — $8
• You Can See Everything — $3 = 15 points
• Everest: The Other Side^* — $3
• The History of Concrete^* — $1

T-4. runningwolf (Z) - 15 points

• La Bola Negra — $20
• Wild Horse Nine — $20
• The Debut — $20
• Fjord^* — $20
• The Invite — $10
• I Play Rocky — $5
• You Can See Everything — $3 = 15 points
• Once Upon a Time in Harlem — $1

T-4. TheFearedDoc (Daddy) - 15 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• Avengers: Doomsday^* — $30
• The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — $10
• How to Rob a Bank^* — $5
• I Play Rocky — $5
• You Can See Everything — $3 = 15 points
• Musk — $3
• Ghost Soldier^* — $3

8. Jordd (J) - 8 points

• The Social Reckoning — $20 = 8 points
• La Bola Negra — $20
• Wild Horse Nine — $20
• Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol^* — $10
• The Invite — $10
• Being Heumann — $8
• I Play Rocky — $5
• Ray Gunn^* — $5

T-9. hughhhhh (Hugh) - 0 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• La Bola Negra — $20
• Godzilla Minus Zero — $15
• The Invite — $10
• The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping — $10
• Musk — $3
• Late Fame^* — $1
• The Super Mario Galaxy Movie^* — $1

T-9. BigBrett - 0 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• Behemoth!^* — $20
• Werwulf — $20
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day — $8
• I Play Rocky — $5
• The Weight^* — $3
• The Last First: Winter K2^* — $2
• Unabomber — $2

T-9. Coach (Clay) - 0 points

• The Odyssey^* — $45
• Clayface^* — $10
• The Invite — $10
• Backrooms^* — $8
• Spider-Man: Brand New Day — $8
• Josephine^* — $8
• Mr. Irrelevant: The John Tuggle Story^* — $5
• The Mandalorian and Grogu^* — $5

T-9. Ariel - 0 points

• Dune: Part Three — $40
• The Debut — $20
• Wild Horse Nine — $20
• Wildwood — $10
• The Cat in the Hat^* — $5
• Tangles^* — $2
• In Waves^* — $2
• Once Upon a Time in Harlem — $1