Let’s Wrap Up the MFL with a Few Small Charts

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Well, our Movies Fantasy League just wrapped up, and it was a blast! Honestly, it was the most competitive season we’ve ever had – things were tight right down to the wire. If you want to join the fun next time around, be sure to sign up for the newsletter so you don’t miss out!

Even though the Vulture Movies Fantasy League season for 2025-26 is over, I can’t help but dive into all the data! Honestly, one of my favorite parts of the season is looking back at the numbers – seeing which movies really delivered, and which picks were genius (or, let’s be real, not so much!). It’s way more complex than just picking the movie that eventually wins Best Picture. The team has put together some amazing charts and visuals to break down how everything played out, so come celebrate your wins and maybe have a little commiseration over the ones that didn’t quite pan out!

Movies Leaderboard

This chart shows which movies simply earned the most recognition. One Battle After Another was the clear winner, succeeding in both awards and at the box office. Interestingly, seven of the top ten movies were nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.

Best-Value Movies

I look forward to this chart every year. While big-budget movies like Sinners ($40) and One Battle After Another ($30) are important to consider, success in MFL really comes down to finding hidden gems. Lurker, for example, didn’t win awards or make much money in theaters, but its $1 price tag delivered a lot of value – including several “Best First Film” awards and a solid payout at the Indie Spirits. This list also consistently features strong documentaries like 2000 Meters to Andriivka, The Perfect Neighbor, and The Alabama Solution – it’s always smart to include a documentary in your draft! Surprisingly, One Battle cost $30 but still managed to be the sixth-best value of the year.

Dream Team

No team in the league chose this specific group of movies during the draft. It’s a shame, because statistically, this combination would have been a winning one. This chart shows the ideal team that could have been built for $100. Interestingly, the team that actually won this year only included four of these movies.

This chart shows how the top ten movies earned their scores, considering awards, box office revenue, and Metacritic ratings. One Battle and Marty Supreme gained most of their points from awards, with a small contribution from box office earnings. In contrast, Avatar, Zootopia, and Wicked primarily earned points through their box office success.

This chart illustrates how a movie’s performance matched up with how often it appeared on fantasy football rosters. Movies falling below the diagonal line underperformed expectations and likely disappointed many fantasy players. It looks like Ella McCay’s pick is among those underperformers.

This chart compares a movie’s earnings to its production cost. The ideal scenario is a movie that earns a lot while costing relatively little, and Hamnet is very close to that sweet spot. Thanks to strong support for Jessie Buckley’s performance, the film earned over 8,000 points for its $20 budget.

If you have any questions, want to share feedback, or are having trouble finding your team or mini-league on the leaderboard, please reach out to me at moviesleague@vulture.com – they’re really helpful!

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2026-03-19 19:54