The March Madness movie tournament has been whittled down, now only a few days away from selecting a favorite film from the box office champions of the past 40 years.
And then there were four.
We started with 64 films, taking the top-16 domestic box office earners from each decade (starting in 1980) and pitting them against one another.
There will be no "One Shining Moment" played at the end of this tournament -- there is no video footage of me typing at the computer or users clicking a button on Twitter -- and yet here we are.
Four films. A representative from each decade spanning the 1980's, 1990's, 2000's and 2010's. There were surprises, upsets, and a couple of close calls. And yet the final four films are all worthy of inclusion.
One half of the match-ups has the 1980's region taking on the 1990's region. The other: the 2000's vs the 2010's.
Take a glance below at the skinny for the final four films (box office totals taken from Box Office Mojo).
1980-1989 winner
Film: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes BackSeed: #3
Domestic box office: $290,271,960
Films defeated: Rain Man, Ghostbusters, Return of the Jedi, Raiders of the Lost Ark
1990-1999 winner
Film: The Lion King (animated)Seed: #3
Domestic Box Office: $422,783,777
Films defeated: Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, Beauty and the Beast (animated), Forrest Gump
2000-2009 winner
Film: The Dark KnightSeed: #2
Domestic Box Office: $535,234,033
Films defeated: Transformers, Finding Nemo, Shrek 2, Iron Man
2010-2019 winner
Film: Avengers: EndgameSeed: #2
Domestic Box Office: $858,373,000
Films defeated: Dark Knight Rises, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, The Black Panther, Infinity War
Pick your favorites! Voting for the semifinals will take place on Twitter (@jasonrh_78) starting at 7 pm (MT) on March 23. The final match will take place beginning roughly 24 hours later, on March 24. *Facebook doesn't have the "polls" option anymore so feel free to leave comments regarding your favorite(s) if you don't have a Twitter account. Your comments will be counted as votes.
Thanks for indulging and playing along over the last couple of weeks. Happy voting and happy film watching!
photo credit: commons.wikimedia.org
Part 1: March Madness movie tourney full bracket
Part 2: Box office dominance of Star Wars universe
Part 3: Marvel mania
Part 4: The Lion King and other animated films
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