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This Year’s Best Picture Nominees Have the Lowest Grosses in Six Years
Variety ^ | February 20, 2018 | Brent Lang

Posted on 02/21/2018 8:27:30 AM PST by EdnaMode

When it comes to box office grosses, the Oscars are no popularity contest.

This year’s crop of best picture nominees have received critical plaudits and trunkloads of awards. But that has not, for the most part, translated into massive ticket sales. Only “Get Out” and “Dunkirk” have topped $100 million at the domestic box office and could comfortably be labeled blockbusters. As it stands, this is the lowest-grossing crop of best picture contenders since 2011, a fact that should be sending shivers up the spine of ABC executives as they brace for the March 4 telecast.

“The Oscars are rewarding more and more niche films,” said Jeff Bock, a box office analyst with Exhibitor Relations. “There’s not a lot to talk about in terms of social media buzz or pop culture significance.”

To be fair, most of these films were never designed to be commercial juggernauts. Seven of the nine nominees — a group that includes “The Shape of Water,” “Darkest Hour” and “Lady Bird” — were platform releases, an industry term for smaller, indie films that open in a modest number of theaters before expanding over weeks and months. It might have been a different story if Academy voters had abandoned their apparent distaste for superhero movies and propelled “Wonder Woman” or “Logan” into contention. Instead, Warner Bros.’ Gal Gadot vehicle was shut out completely, and Fox’s Wolverine sequel had to settle for a screenplay nomination.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences expanded the list of best picture contenders in 2009 from five to a possible 10, the hope was that voters would move outside the art-house bubble.

(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; TV/Movies
KEYWORDS: academyawards; awards; hollywood; oscars
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To: dfwgator

All those films are about gay cowboys eating pudding.

><

My aunt and uncle, both in their 80’s at the time, loved to watch western movies so she went to the local Blockbuster and rented one.

She was in the kitchen making popcorn when all of a sudden he called out “What in hell did you rent, woman”?

She had rented “Brokeback Mountain”. The old folks had no idea.


21 posted on 02/21/2018 9:13:48 AM PST by laplata (Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: EdnaMode

“As it stands, this is the lowest-grossing crop of best picture contenders since 2011, a fact that should be sending shivers up the spine of ABC executives as they brace for the March 4 telecast.”

No, no, no. The author, Lang, doesn’t seem to understand that the point of the Oscars is to bash Trump, average Americans, good taste, Christianity, etc. It’s also about patting Hollyweird on the back for advancing indecency and the bubble they live in. It has nothing to do with ratings. They would put it on TV even if almost no one watched it.


22 posted on 02/21/2018 9:33:19 AM PST by vladimir998 (Apparently I'm still living in your head rent free. At least now it isn't empty.)
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To: C19fan

You didn’t need the sarc tag for that one! Not only will it sweep the oscars but the Golden Globes too and the entire cast may be canonized pre-mortality.


23 posted on 02/21/2018 9:35:23 AM PST by pgkdan (The Silent Majority STILL Stands With TRUMP!)
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To: vladimir998

Yup. Nailed it.


24 posted on 02/21/2018 9:51:07 AM PST by EdnaMode
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To: EdnaMode

Filthy language, ugly actors, bad scripts, anti-American and anti-cop antics...what’s the point of going to the movies when you can watch CNN?


25 posted on 02/21/2018 9:55:44 AM PST by miss marmelstein
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To: EdnaMode

Anytime Hollywood endorses anything it is political. Haven’t been to a movie in well over a year and that was to religious movie heavily endorse by our church!!


26 posted on 02/21/2018 11:28:27 AM PST by ontap
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To: laplata

My father in law back in the seventies wanted to go see “The Prime of Miss Jean Brody” My mother in law said no because she heard it was rather racy...Her suggestion...let’s go to this western....”Midnight Cowboy”. He took her and refused to leave until it was over!!!


27 posted on 02/21/2018 11:32:12 AM PST by ontap
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To: ontap

Lol. That’s a good one.


28 posted on 02/21/2018 11:34:43 AM PST by laplata (Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: EdnaMode

I agree the theatre experience is not what it used rot be. Also some off these are thoughtful and have adult dialogue in an age when the attention span is 90 seconds.


29 posted on 02/21/2018 11:34:52 AM PST by morphing libertarian (Build Kate's Wall)
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To: EdnaMode

I lost interest in the Oscars after watching the award winning “Unforgiven”. I just didn’t get all the hoopla and frankly found the movie quite boring. After that I realized most things nominated are boring or dumb as shit.


30 posted on 02/21/2018 11:39:07 AM PST by Sam Gamgee
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To: catnipman

124 million of liberal cash. Can’t frankly see how anyone else would care.


31 posted on 02/21/2018 11:40:09 AM PST by Sam Gamgee
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To: BBell

The love story was so badly written - worse than a Harlequin novel.


32 posted on 02/21/2018 11:40:56 AM PST by Sam Gamgee
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To: Sam Gamgee

The Academy Awards are more about the “art” of filmmaking rather than the popularity.

Unforgiven was a lot more of a character study than it was a Western.

These days, I do more research before I go to the movies than I do when I buy a truck. The truck has pretty much been the same for years. If I don’t like the new one, I just wait a couple of years. An F150 or a Silverado are not usually going to break in a couple of years.

Movies on the otherhand, are pretty hit or miss.


33 posted on 02/21/2018 11:53:40 AM PST by Vermont Lt (Burn. It. Down.)
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To: Vermont Lt

I probably watch more movies (at home) with Netflix. Something you wouldn’t bother with say at the video store, you might say “what the heck”. For example, Snow piercer with Chris Evans was actually quite entertaining.


34 posted on 02/21/2018 1:49:56 PM PST by Sam Gamgee
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To: Dilbert San Diego
The ratings for the Oscars could be in the toilet. How many people are going to sit through a 3 to 4 hour telecast, going past midnight in the east coast, to see which movie or actors/actresses they never saw and don’t know anything about, have won Oscars????

And as an added bonus, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

35 posted on 02/21/2018 4:50:21 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: laplata; ontap
My parents confused Leaving Las Vegas with Honeymoon in Vegas. Nevertheless they sat through the entire movie. My mother said she thought it would have a happy ending....
36 posted on 02/21/2018 4:56:06 PM PST by Rummyfan (In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man. Support Israel.)
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To: Rummyfan

That’s funny.


37 posted on 02/21/2018 5:05:05 PM PST by laplata (Liberals/Progressives have diseased minds.)
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To: Sam Gamgee

Like some other actors who become directors, Clint Eastwood doesn’t like to cut stuff out. So his films move slowly. They’re still worth seeing, but he really needs an editor who’ll stand up to him.


38 posted on 02/21/2018 5:08:05 PM PST by x
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To: Rummyfan
My parents confused Leaving Las Vegas with Honeymoon in Vegas.

Nicolas Cage also had trouble keeping the two straight.


39 posted on 02/21/2018 5:13:35 PM PST by x
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To: miss marmelstein

Most excellent, Miss M!


40 posted on 02/22/2018 5:27:04 AM PST by doberville
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