We are a week away from the Oscars. And the envelope goes to…the movies from 2012, not 2013. Even though we’ve said many times that 2013 was the strongest in decades for artistic releases, it wasn’t so good Oscar wise for the bottom line.
According to boxofficemojo.com, the 9 movies nominated for Best Picture 2013 made a total of over $225 million less than the ones from the previous year.
The 2012 pack, led by Best Picture winner “Argo,” took in just over $1 billion domestically. The current group, with “Gravity” and “12 Years a Slave” among the top contenders, are now at $773,410,316.
The average gross for 2012 was $111,353,846. But this year’s average is quite a bit lower, at $85,934,480.
Surprised? I am. But it turned out that this year only 4 of the 9 nominees crossed the $100 million mark. The other five– “12 Years,” “Nebraska,” “Philomena,” “Her,” and “Dallas Buyers Club”– have had relatively small box office takes. In 2012, six of the nine made that cut. Missing “The Butler” this year, with $116 million, lowered the average.
One movie that should have been a hit and wasn’t, Ron Howard’s “Rush,” took in just $26 million. I still don’t know why– it was all set for greatness. Now the company that made it, Exclusive Media, is laying off employees and has kicked out its principle directors.
