2012 Film Olympics: Simply the best

Posted Wednesday, August 1, 2012 at 4:43 PM Central
Last updated Thursday, August 2, 2012 at 4:35 PM Central

by John Couture

There are so many ways to measure a film's success. Sure, there are the tangible measurements such as total box office haul, number of tickets sold or number of DVD/VHS units sold, etc.

But there's also intangible rankings that rely less on quantifiable numbers and more on feel. Film is a subjective medium after all, which means that results are unpredictable.

If you ask 10 people to name the best film ever, you are likely to get 10 different films as responses. If you ask someone today, who is the most decorated Olympic athlete, there's only one answer: Michael Phelps.

Michael Phelps swam his way to Olympic glory yesterday in capturing his 18th and 19th Olympic medals surpassing the 18 medals won by Russian gymnast Larisa Latynina. Of course, if you ask people who is the greatest Olympic athlete of all time, again you're likely to get a bunch of different replies.

Let's be honest, Avatar earned the most money sure, but I doubt many people would call it the best film of all time. So, there has to be some sort of common ground between financial success and subjective enjoyment, right?

For this series and in light of Phelps' accomplishment, I present the medal winners for best longevity (as measured by number of weeks in the #1 spot at the box office). Basically, I took the top 10 films for total weeks at #1 and subjectively picked the best three of the bunch.

BRONZE

I bet you didn't realize that Porky's had such a prolific box office performance. Don't worry, I had no clue either. But sure enough, it tied for 10th place with eight total weekends at #1.

Released in March of 1982, it's also the oldest film on the list which only goes to show that when a film is good enough, it will stand the test of time. As the precursor to all of the R-rated teen comedy romps that follow, it set a great example and continues to score to this day.

SILVER

The current record holder with 16 weeks at #1 (yes, that's four months), it's hard to fathom if E.T.'s record will ever be challenged. With fleeting attention spans and an overflowing slate of films releasing each and every week, films just don't have the power to dominate for an entire quarter anymore.

This is a great film that ushered in the age of the Summer blockbuster season. The family friend film continues to resonates with each and every new generation for the last 30 years.

GOLD

Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters.

A cult classic in every sense of the word, this film stepped up to the plate and had us laughing all the way to the gold medal. This is the culmination of having so many talented comic actors in a film hitting on all cylinders. It's hard to think if they will ever relinquish their gold medal.

Here's the updated medal count.

Make sure you come back tomorrow when we prove that cheaters never win.