{"id":4462,"date":"2013-01-10T12:18:27","date_gmt":"2013-01-10T20:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/?p=4462"},"modified":"2013-01-10T12:18:27","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T20:18:27","slug":"oscar-winners-slipping-at-the-box-office-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/filmchat\/2013\/01\/oscar-winners-slipping-at-the-box-office-2012.html","title":{"rendered":"Oscar winners slipping at the box office — 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/a>I haven\u2019t done this in a few years, but I did devote posts to this subject in 2005<\/a>, 2006<\/a>, 2007<\/a>, 2008<\/a> and 2009<\/a> \u2014 so I might as well whip one up for 2012, as well.<\/p>\n

First, a recap:<\/p>\n

2005<\/a> marked the first time since 1996 that the Best Picture winner<\/i> did not gross at least $100 million, the first time since 1985 that not one of the Best Picture nominees<\/i> grossed at least $100 million, and the first time in living memory that the Best Picture winner was not one of the Top 25 grossing films of its year. In fact, the winner that year \u2014 Crash<\/a><\/i> \u2014 grossed a mere $54.6 million and ranked way, way down at #49.<\/p>\n

Ever since then, the Oscar for Best Picture has alternated between relatively big hits and somewhat smaller box-office performers.<\/p>\n

In 2006<\/a>, the Oscars went back in a more \u201cpopular\u201d direction, by giving the top prize to The Departed<\/a><\/i>, which grossed $132.4 million and ranked #15 for the year.<\/p>\n

In 2007<\/a>, the Oscars went \u201carthouse\u201d again, by giving the top prize to No Country for Old Men<\/a><\/i>, which grossed $74.3 million and ranked #36 for the year. (Ironically, the only nominee that year to gross over $100 million was also an \u201cindependent\u201d film, namely Juno<\/a><\/i>.)<\/p>\n

In 2008<\/a>, the Oscars went \u201cpopular\u201d again, by giving the top prize to Slumdog Millionaire<\/a><\/i>, which, despite being an \u201cindependent\u201d film and a quasi-foreign one to boot, wound up grossing $141.3 million and ranking #16 for the year.<\/p>\n

In 2009<\/a> (the first year in decades in which the Academy allowed for up to ten Best Picture nominees), the Oscars went \u201carthouse\u201d again, by giving the top prize to The Hurt Locker<\/i>, a film that grossed a mere $17 million and ranked #116 for the year \u2014 easily the lowest-grossing Best Picture winner of my lifetime (and its grosses would seem even lower if we adjusted ticket prices for inflation!).<\/p>\n

In 2010<\/a>, the Oscars went \u201cpopular\u201d again, by giving the top prize to The King\u2019s Speech<\/i>, which grossed $135.5 million and ranked #18 for the year.<\/p>\n

In 2011<\/a>, the Oscars went \u201carthouse\u201d again, by giving the top prize to The Artist<\/i>, which grossed a mere $44.7 million and ranked #71 for the year.<\/p>\n

And now, it is time for the nominees of 2012<\/a> \u2014 and if today\u2019s nominations<\/a> are anything to go by, the Academy will be swinging in a fairly \u201cpopular\u201d direction again. Here are the current grosses and box-office rankings for the nine Best Picture nominees, as of yesterday:<\/p>\n