A Complete Overview of Movies Fantasy League: Season 6

Illustration: Brianna Miller

We are off and running after the first official weekend of the MFL! We didn’t start off with much of a bang, though, at least when it comes to scoring. Only two movies earned points — Verity and Digger — and if you drafted either of them you got fewer points than you were probably hoping for.

Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson’s twisty, glamorous thriller Verity took the top spot at the box office this weekend, with a $32 million take that translated to a total of 62 MFL points when we added in its bonus points for hitting the $25 million threshold and finishing No. 1 one at the box office. Digger, on the other hand, opened to the sad trombone of $8 million, earning it just eight MFL points. It’s looking unlikely that it will hit that $25 threshold, but don’t count out Tom Cruise’s awards campaign just yet. There’s a lot of game between now and Oscar night.

Draft Your Team

If you haven’t yet drafted, check out Joe Reid’s draft guide for a rundown of each film’s potential. Sign-ups close on December 18, but movies are removed from contention when they’re released in theaters or earn awards points, so the pool of available films will continue to dwindle. You can sign up below or by clicking here to get periodic reminders to draft before the deadline.

Join us on Discord to discuss draft strategies and more.

Leaderboard

Updated October 6, 2026

The Basics

➼ The first step is to draft a team of eight eligible movies released in 2026 using a budget of 100 fake dollars. Each movie has been assigned a value based on its points-earning potential.

➼ Scoring starts on October 2, at which point new ballots will be limited to films that haven’t yet opened or started accruing points (i.e., you can only draft unreleased movies that haven’t been nominated for any awards).

➼ When scoring starts, you’ll accrue points based on the box-office performance, awards haul, audience reception, and critical reception of the movies you picked. Each week, the updated leaderboard will be available on this page and in the weekly MFL newsletter.

➼ The teams that earn the most points when the game ends after the 2027 Oscars will win one or more prizes.

➼ If you want to compete against your friends, family, or co-workers, you can create a mini-league. You’ll find more details on that below.

➼ This year, we’ve partnered with Letterboxd to create a new mini-league to play against Letterboxd users for exclusive prizes, including a Letterboxd Pro membership. To join, enter “letterboxd” in the mini-league field when you draft your team.

➼ There’s a limit of one entry per email address. You can’t modify your team once it has been submitted, even if a movie you picked gets rescheduled to next year.

See the complete official rules for the main game and the Letterboxd League. Questions? Need help? You can ask in Discord or email moviesleague@vulture.com.

Mini-Leagues

You can play against a set of friends in a mini-league. Have everyone in your crew enter the same league name on the ballot when you each register, and then you’ll be able to filter the standings to see how everyone in your group is doing. Be sure to double-check spelling, spacing, and casing so that you can be sure everyone makes it into the right mini-league. You’ll be able to join only one mini-league, so you may have to choose your favorite community (or the one you think you’re most likely to win!).

Messed up your mini-league or forgot to join one? Use this form to correct it. Please note that you won’t receive confirmation when submitted; Check the next leaderboard update to ensure you’re in the right league.

Introducing the Letterboxd League

For the first time this year, we’re presenting a match made in movie heaven: a Letterboxd mini-league. The same set of rules above would apply here, but instead of competing against your friends, you’ll go tête-à-tête with other self-anointed Letterboxd fanatics. To join, enter “letterboxd,” all lowercase, on your ballot. Once enrolled, you will compete for a special slate of Letterboxd prizes.

Now the movies you watch, log, and rate could have real-game consequences on the MFL season. The newest scoring category addition will award points to titles based on a movie’s Letterboxd average rating. We’ll get to know what critics think. We’ll see how the movies perform in theaters. But what about the people who watched them? Are any of this year’s movies going to creep into somebody’s Top Four? Only time will tell.

Prizes

Oh look, it’s an array of fantastic prizes! Here’s what’s up for grabs.

Grand Prizes (1st–3rd Place)

The overall winner gets to select one of the following devices:

Illustration: Vulture; Products courtesy the retailers

➼ 65” Roku Pro Series TV
➼ Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Noise-Canceling Headphones
➼ Sony PlayStation5

The second-place finisher gets to choose between the remaining two, and third place will get the final item. You can’t go wrong.

And to the second-tier victors, another round of spoils: a collection of a cinephile’s dream bundles. The top 30 winners will get their choice of merchandise from A24, Neon, or Criterion, including Blu-ray bundles of select titles to fatten their home movie libraries.

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Products courtesy the studios

The overall winner of the Letterboxd League will be the proud new owner of a pair of Bowers & Wilkins Px8 S2 Noise-Canceling Headphones. The top five will receive a chic new dad hat, and everyone in the top 20 will enjoy a year of a complimentary Letterboxd Pro membership.

Photo-Illustration: Vulture; Products courtesy the studios

Scoring Categories

Once your roster is selected, you will earn points in four categories:

1. Domestic Box-Office Performance

Movies will be eligible for box-office points only if they are released on or after the scoring window begins. Points will be awarded in the following manner (based on Box Office Mojo):

Every $1 million earned: 1 point
Clears $25 million: 10-point bonus
Clears $50 million: 15-point bonus
Clears $75 million: 15-point bonus
Clears $100 million: 20-point bonus
Clears $125 million: 15-point bonus
Clears $150 million: 15-point bonus
Clears $175 million: 15-point bonus
Clears $200 million: 25-point bonus
Reaches No. 1 at the domestic box office: 20 points per week spent at No. 1

2. Critical Performance

Points will be awarded in the following manner (based on the Metacritic “Metascore”):

0–19: -10 points
20–39: -5 points
40–49: 0 points
50–59: 10 points
60–69: 20 points
70–79: 40 points
80–89: 70 points
90–100: 100 points

Metacritic points will be awarded all at once on January 4, 2027, and will not be adjusted based on subsequent score fluctuations. Only movies that have been released and have a Metascore score at the time of scoring are eligible for Critical Performance points.

3. Audience Performance

Movies will earn points based on their average Letterboxd star rating, as displayed on the movie’s individual Letterboxd page.

0.0–0.9 star rating = -10 points
1.0–1.9 star rating = -5 points
2.0–2.4 star rating = 0 points
2.5–2.9 star rating = 10 points
3.0–3.4 star rating = 40 points
3.5–3.9 star rating = 70 points
4.0–5.0 star rating = 100 points

Letterboxd points will be awarded all at once on March 1, 2027, and will not be adjusted based on subsequent score fluctuations. Only movies that have been released and have a Metascore score at the time of scoring are eligible for Letterboxd points.

4. Awards

Points will be awarded for both awards nominations and wins. See the calendar below for points associated with each event.

Frequently Asked Questions

This hub should have answered your most pressing inquiries about the league, how to play and where to sign up, but here are a few additional frequently asked questions we receive from players:

I want to play, but I’m not ready to draft yet. Can I get a reminder so I don’t miss the deadline?
Yes!

How do I create or join a mini-league?
Here’s everything you need to know about mini-leagues.

Will you add XYZ movie to the draft?
We field movie requests in our Discord.

I’m getting a spinning wheel when I try to submit my team.
Try enabling pop-ups on your browser. If that doesn’t work, try on mobile or another device.

How do I see the movies I selected once I’ve signed up?
Upon signing up, you should receive an email that welcomes you to the MFL 2026–27 season and lists your movie lineup, display name, and mini-league, if applicable. Check your spam folder if you don’t see it in your inbox. Once scoring is underway, each email update will include your full team as well as your current score and rank on the main leaderboard.

I changed my mind about my team, can I change my picks?
Sorry, no. Once you’ve drafted, your entry is locked.

I already signed up, but I want to join a mini-league / I want to change my mini-league.
To change your mini-league or add yourself to an existing one, use our self-correction tool. Please note you will not receive a confirmation once your mini-league has been changed. Check the next published leaderboard to confirm you have been moved or added into the correct mini-league. Unless otherwise noted, leaderboards are published Tuesdays at noon ET.

Join our Discord to overanalyze the leaderboard and chat throughout the season with other players. It’s also the place to provide feedback and suggestions about the game and get your additional queries answered. For any additional questions not answered by this FAQ or our game hub, please email emily.heller@vulture.com.