The people have spoken! After four rounds of intense voting in our Olympics movie bracket, a winner has emerged.
Though I rooted for “Cool Runnings,” I can’t argue with fellow Disney sports flick “Miracle” emerging victorious over “Chariots of Fire.” And not just because I think “Chariots” is a raging bore, either. “Miracle” has a great performance by Kurt Russell as Coach Herb Brooks, for starters. Plus, if you were around in 1980 like decrepit old yours truly, you could relive the excitement of the US Hockey team’s triumph through Gavin O’Connor’s assured direction and the tight script by Eric Guggenheim.
Given that a solid 65 percent of readers backed “Miracle” in the final round, most should be happy with this result. But if you’re among the 35 percent who voted for “Chariots” or your favorite got knocked out before the finals, let us know why your fellow readers were wrong in the comments. Or go there to crow about how you were right.
Round 1 results
- I, Tonya (2017) trounced Eddie the Eagle (2015) 65.57 percent to 34.43 percent.
- Blades of Glory (2007) narrowly edged out The Cutting Edge 51.08 percent to 48.92 percent.
- Like the Americans did to the Soviets way back when, Kurt Russell’s Miracle (2004) beat Miracle on Ice (1981) 85.26 percent to 14.74 percent.
- Cool Runnings (1992) slid to a win over Downhill Racer (1969) 70.35 percent to 29.65 percent.
- The Boys in the Boat (2023) finished ahead of Race (2016) 52.48 percent to 47.52 percent.
- Chariots of Fire (1981) beat out Jim Thorpe, All American (1951) 82.72 percent to 17.28 percent.
- The Fire Inside (2024) knocked out The Swimmers (2022) 57.19 percent to 42.81 percent.
- Foxcatcher (2014) defeated Personal Best (1982) 54.05 percent to 45.96 percent.
Round 2 results
- I, Tonya skated past Blades of Glory, which will disappoint at least one Globe editor and quite a few readers, 55.4 percent to 44.6 percent.
- In the tightest competition of the round, Foxcatcher narrowly beat out Fire Inside to advance, 50.7 percent to 49.3 percent.
- You guys sure do love Kurt Russell’s Minnesota accent. Miracle trounced beloved Cool Runnings 67.13 percent to 32.87 percent. Ouch.
- Chariots of Fire sprinted away with the round, beating The Boys in the Boat 60.5 percent to 39.5 percent.
Round 3 results
- You sure were decisive this round. Chariots of Fire walloped Foxcatcher in Round 3, 84.9 percent to 15.1 percent.
- Interestingly, Miracle prevailed over I, Tonya with basically the same margin: 85.15 percent of votes to 14.85 percent.
Round 4 results
- The final matchup resulted in a decisive victory for Miracle, which scored 65 percent of the vote to Chariots of Fire’s 35 percent. Who cares that the latter won four Oscars? Not Globe readers, that’s who.
Victoria McGrane of Globe staff contributed to this story.
Odie Henderson is the Boston Globe's film critic.