The New York Post's Lou Lumenick informs us that Sony's (very) long-awaited "Ghost Rider" would be landing in theaters next week without making a pit stop with the movie press. And that means two things: 1. The movie is probably not very good, based on the average Tomatometer (15 percent) of unscreened movies; 2. It's time to play Guess the Tomatometer!

Yes, movie fans, it's Guess the Tomatometer time -- and you know what THAT means: You, um, well you guess what the ... Tomatometer will be at the end of the weekend ... obviously. OK, so it's a simple game, but it's fun, too!

Here are some things to remember:

1. "Ghost Rider" was originally set to hit theaters about eight months ago. The delay was reportedly caused by the need for extra FX work. We shall see.

2. "Ghost Rider" was directed by Mark Steven Johnson, the man who turned Marvel's "Daredevil" and "Elektra" into movie-type ... things.

3. The latest "Ghost Rider" trailer seems to be going more for tongue-in-cheek camp than intense action and evil curses and what-not.


4. "Ghost Rider" opens opposite a political thriller ("Breach") and a family-style adventure epic ("The Bridge to Terabithia"). This will affect box office returns moreso than critical reaction, but I thought it was a fun thing to mention anyway.

5. You never can tell what "the critics" are going to like. New Line hid "Snakes on a Plane" from the press, and probably ended up kicking itself when A) the critical response was pretty decent, and B) the box office was surprisingly anemic.

Of course I'll give the flick a fair shake, but we all know what long delays, silly trailers, and press blackouts usually mean: Turkey time.

Unfortunately "Ghost Rider" doesn't open until next Friday (the 16th), so consider this the Guess the Tomatometer pre-game warm-up. We'll be back next week with the official game.

Films Not Screened for Critics in 2007 (Best To Worst Tomatometer Score):
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21% -- The Hitcher
16% -- Primeval
14% -- The Messengers
10% -- Blood and Chocolate
3% -- Epic Movie

Films Not Screened For Critics In 2006:
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68% -- Snakes on a Plane
59% -- Crank
29% -- Saw III
28% -- Tyler Perry's Madea's Family Reunion
26% -- Silent Hill
23% -- Phat Girlz
22% -- The Marine
18% -- The Return
17% -- Black Christmas
17% -- One Night with the King
15% -- Grandma's Boy
13% -- Underworld: Evolution
13% -- Pulse
13% -- Wicker Man
11% -- The Benchwarmers
11% -- The Grudge 2
10% -- When a Stranger Calls
8% -- See No Evil
7% -- Date Movie
7% -- Doogal
7% -- Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector
7% -- Ultraviolet
6% -- Let’s Go To Prison
6% -- Stay Alive
6% -- Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj
5% -- BloodRayne
5% -- Material Girls
3% -- The Covenant
0% -- Zoom


**Update: Columbia TriStar confirms there will be press screenings prior to the release of "Ghost Rider" next week.