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It is the second straight year that Academy
Awards voters have spotlighted widely seen movies, bucking a
trend toward honoring independent films like "Moonlight" and
"The Hurt Locker" that played to smaller audiences in art house
theaters.
Six of nine contenders for the film industry's most coveted
trophy, which will be awarded on Sunday, have grossed more than
$100 million worldwide, according to data from Box Office Mojo.
Dark comedy "Joker," from AT&T Inc's <T.N> Warner Bros, leads
the pack with $1.07 billion.
GRAPHIC-How this year's Oscar-nominated films for best picture
did at the box office:
https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/
gfx/editorcharts/AWARDS-OSCARS-POPULAR/0H001R883BN3/index.html
Next is the $389.3 million for Tarantino's love letter to 1960s
Tinseltown, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," released by Sony
Corp's <6758.T> film studio. That ranks as the second-biggest
box office take of Tarantino's career.
And both World War One epic "1917" and 1960s racing drama "Ford
v Ferrari" have crossed $200 million worldwide.
The sizable ticket sales showed that moviegoers last year
flocked to adult-oriented dramas and not just the action hero
spectacles and sequels that dominate modern multiplexes, said
Vulture film critic Alison Willmore.
"It's been a heartening year in that way," Willmore said. "It
felt counter to the narrative that the only movies people really
turn out to see in larger crowds are franchises."
Past honors for smaller films had stoked concern that the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was out of touch
with movie audiences and that its choices where hurting TV
ratings for the Oscars telecast. When "Moonlight" was named best
picture in 2017, it had sold just $22.3 million worth of tickets
in the United States and Canada.
Oscars organizers considered creating a best "popular" film
category for the 2019 awards ceremony. They dropped the idea
after a backlash that it would establish a two-tiered system of
popular and what might have been seen as "unpopular" fare.
Popular films did, however, break into the best picture race
last year. The field included Marvel's superhero film "Black
Panther" and rock biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody."
This year's nominees feature two movies from Netflix Inc <NFLX.O>,
"Marriage Story" and "The Irishman." The company does not reveal
how much money its films earn in theaters but has said that
Mafia epic "The Irishman" is a hit on streaming.
More than 26 million Netflix accounts streamed at least 70
percent of the film over the first seven days, Chief Content
Officer Ted Sarandos said in December. He projected that figure
would reach 40 million over 28 days.
Netflix has not released figures for divorce drama "Marriage
Story." Both movies are still playing in theaters and streaming
on Netflix.
Even the Korean-language film "Parasite," a dark satire about
inequality and best picture nominee this year, has lured
audiences to movie houses. It has collected $163.3 million at
ticket windows around the world.
"You have a case of a foreign language film that has crossed
over and become an incredible success and just a buzzed-about
phenomenon," Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman said.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Additional reporting by Alicia
Powell in New York; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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