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Commissioner Kit

You're the commissioner.
Here's everything you need.

Popcorn Wars is fantasy football for movies. You and your friends predict opening weekend box office numbers, compete head-to-head, and crown a champion. This page has the copy, the answers, and the four minutes of work it takes to get your league running.

Your job, in full

Setup takes under five minutes. After that, the app does the work and you get to talk trash.

Name your league

Whatever your group chat is already called usually works.

Pick a length

Snack Size is four weeks, Regular is eight, Jumbo Tub is twelve. The app auto-selects the biggest releases each weekend — you don't have to know the release calendar. Swap movies if you feel strongly.

Pick a tone

Fan, Entertainer, or Critic. This sets the personality of every automated announcement your league gets all season. Choose the one that sounds like your friends.

Share your invite link

That's the whole growth plan. One link, sent once.

Then you're done. Predictions lock on their own. The season starts on its own. Results post every Monday on their own. You are not running a spreadsheet.

Copy, paste, send

Three versions, depending on who you're texting. Take them as-is or make them sound more like you — that always works better. Your invite link lives in the app under League Settings → Commissioner Tools.

Short

One friend, one text

Starting a Popcorn Wars league — we guess opening weekend box office numbers and go head-to-head. Free, takes five minutes. You in? [your invite link]

Medium

The group chat

I made us a Popcorn Wars league. It's fantasy football but for movies — everyone guesses what each big release makes on opening weekend, and we go head-to-head every week until somebody wins the whole thing. Free to play, and it takes about five minutes to put your picks in. Join here: [your invite link]

Longer

Email, Slack, or a group that needs convincing

I've started a Popcorn Wars league and I want you in it.

The idea is simple: every week there's a big movie coming out, and everyone in the league guesses what it'll make on opening weekend. Closest guess wins the head-to-head matchup. It runs like a fantasy league — weekly matchups, standings, playoffs, a champion at the end.

You don't need to know anything about box office numbers. The app shows you what comparable movies actually made, so you're making an informed guess rather than pulling one out of the air. Honestly the people who know nothing tend to do fine.

It's free, and the only real commitment is about ten minutes up front to enter your picks. After that you just check your phone on Mondays to see whether you won.

Here's the link: [your invite link]

What your friends are going to ask

What if I don't know anything about box office numbers?
Nobody does. That's most of the fun. For every movie, the app shows you what similar films actually made on opening weekend — so you've got real context to work from. Gut feelings do fine too. Some of our best beta players had never thought about box office in their lives.
How much time does this take?
Five to ten minutes to enter your predictions at the start. Then you check results when they post on Mondays. It is not a daily thing and it will not ask you for your attention.
Is it actually free?
Yes. Playing is always free, and always will be. The only thing you can pay for is a one-time unlock if you want to run more than one league of your own as commissioner. Joining a league costs nothing, ever.
What do I actually have to do?
Download the app, tap the invite link, enter your predictions before the deadline. That's the entire ask.
How do I enter a number?
In millions. If you think a movie makes forty-six million dollars, you type 46. Not 46000000. This trips up almost everyone once.
What if some of my friends don't want to play?
Fine. Leagues work well from four people up. Send the link to more people than you need and let it sort itself out — nobody has to be talked into it.

Three things worth knowing

  • Send one personal nudge before the deadline. The app sends a reminder automatically, but a text from you works better. It always does.
  • Your invite link closes when the season starts. It works during setup and while predictions are open, then it shuts off so nobody joins mid-season with an unfair look at the board. Get everyone in before the season kicks off — and if a straggler shows up late, add them to next season instead.
  • Don't overthink the movie list. The presets pick the biggest releases automatically. If your group has a running argument about one specific film, swap it in. Otherwise leave it alone and go do something else.

I ran this game for years as a spreadsheet and a chain of increasingly unhinged emails. It was the best group chat I've ever been part of, and it had nothing to do with the movies. It had to do with the fact that six people had publicly committed to a number and now had to live with it.

That's what I built the app for. The math is handled so the arguing isn't.

If something breaks or something bugs you, email me directly — support@popcornwars.app. I read all of it.

— Johnny