Every week, we’ll take a look back 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 (starting in January) years into the box office past to explore how Oscar’s nominees were doing at the box office that weekend historically. All data is taken from Box Office Mojo. The first section under each year is the positioning of all Oscar nominees during that weekend at the box office. The second section is an alphabetical list of those films and the categories in which they were nominated. And to start each week off, we’ll be looking at the films releasing over the weekend that have the best chance of getting Oscar nominations and specifying the categories where we think they have the best chance at this stage of the game. Please let us know if you like our new feature or if you want to see more information and we’ll see what we can do!

This Year: Potential Oscar Nominees Releasing This Weekend

Puss in Boots (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Animated Feature.

Anonymous (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Art Direction, Costume Design.

Janie Jones (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Original Song.

Like Crazy (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Original Screenplay.

5 Years Ago: The Weekend of Oct. 27-29, 2006

Weekend Box Office:

2. The Departed – $9,848,258 ($91,098,431 total) {week 4}
3. The Prestige – $9,573,215 ($28,780,742 total) {week 2}
4. Flags of Our Fathers – $6,346,856 ($19,923,069 total) {week 2}
9. Marie Antoinette – $2,845,815 ($9,752,091 total) {week 2}
14. The Queen – $1,909,139 ($6,289,941 total) {week 5}
20. The Illusionist – $505,971 ($38,218,510 total) {week 11}
23. Little Miss Sunshine – $404,453 ($57,803,486 total) {week 14}
24. Babel – $389,351 ($389,351 total) {week 1}
25. The Last King of Scotland – $337,618 ($2,419,935 total) {week 5}
27. Little Children – $199,947 ($803,508 total) {week 4}
39. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – $108,375 ($421,392,843 total) {week 17}
48. The Devil Wears Prada – $52,473 ($124,541,866 total) {week 18}
55. Superman Returns – $40,505 ($200,069,408 total) {week 18}
57. Deliver Us From Evil – $32,942 ($70,818 total) {week 3}
58. Jesus Camp – $31,887 ($654,802 total) {week 7}
64. Half Nelson – $20,515 ($2,639,124 total) {week 12}
92. An Inconvenient Truth – $5,905 ($23,808,111 total) {week 23}

Oscar Details:

• The Departed: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg), Adapted Screenplay [O], Editing
• The Prestige: Cinematography, Art Direction
• Flags of Our Fathers: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Marie Antoinette: Costume Design [O]
• The Queen: Picture, Directing, Actress (Helen Mirren [O]), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design
• The Illusionist: Cinematography
• Little Miss Sunshine: Picture, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin [O]), Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin), Original Screenplay [O]
• Babel: Picture, Supporting Actress (Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi), Directing, Original Screenplay, Original Score [O], Editing
• The Last King of Scotland: Actor (Forest Whitaker [O])
• Little Children: Actress (Kate Winslet), Supporting Actor (Jackie Earle Haley), Adapted Screenplay
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest: Art Direction, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects [O]
• The Devil Wears Prada: Actress (Meryl Streep), Costume Design
• Superman Returns: Visual Effects
• Deliver Us From Evil: Documentary Feature
• Jesus Camp: Documentary Feature
• Half Nelson: Actor (Ryan Gosling)
• An Inconvenient Truth: Original Song (“I Need to Wake Up” [O]), Documentary Feature [O]

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Oct. 26-28, 2001

Weekend Box Office:

5. Training Day – $5,137,712 ($65,029,281 total) {week 4}
18. Mulholland Drive – $685,448 ($2,926,493 total) {week 3}
25. Shrek – $261,875 ($266,982,666 total) {week 24}
44. Ghost World – $66,734 ($5,902,567 total) {week 15}
45. Pearl Harbor – $63,749 ($198,356,396 total) {week 23}
46. Moulin Rouge! – $7,464 ($56,705,791 total) {week 24}

Oscar Details:

• Training Day: Actor (Denzel Washington [O]), Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke)
• Mulholland Drive: Director (David Lynch)
• Shrek: Animated Feature [O], Adapted Screenplay
• Ghost World: Adapted Screenplay
• Pearl Harbor: Original Song (“There You’ll Be”), Sound, Sound Editing [O], Visual Effects
• Moulin Rouge!: Picture, Actress (Nicole Kidman), Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup, Sound

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Oct. 25-27, 1996

Weekend Box Office:

4. The Ghost and the Darkness – $4,390,078 ($26,792,125 total) {week 3}
8. Michael Collins – $2,409,761 ($2,941,151 total) {week 3}
9. That Thing You Do! – $2,050,606 ($20,554,737 total) {week 3}
13. Independence Day – $1,217,504 ($300,880,790 total) {week 17}
14. The Rock – $66,101 ($133,881,431 total) {week 21}
15. When We Were Kings – $12,479 ($12,479 total) {week 21}

Oscar Details:

• The Ghost and the Darkness: Sound Effects Editing [O]
• Michael Collins: Original Score, Cinematography
• That Thing You Do!: Original Song (“That Thing You Do”)
• Independence Day: Sound, Visual Effects [O]
• The Rock: Sound
• When We Were Kings: Documentary Feature

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Oct. 25-27, 1991

Weekend Box Office:

4. The Fisher King – $2,507,041 ($30,907,426 total) {week 6}
16. Terminator 2: Judgment Day – $650,170 ($199,698,204 total) {week 17}

Oscar Details:

• The Fisher King: Actor (Robin Williams), Supporting Actress (Mercedes Ruehl [O]), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Art Direction
• Terminator 2: Judgment Day: Editing, Cinematography, Makeup [O], Sound [O], Sound Effects Editing [O], Visual Effects [O]

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Oct. 24-26, 1986

Weekend Box Office:

1. Crocodile Dundee – $6,745,249 ($51,846,699 total) {week 5}
2. The Color of Money – $5,256,823 ($13,742,233 total) {week 2}
4. Peggy Sue Got Married – $4,169,418 ($17,534,696 total) {week 3}
8. Children of a Lesser God – $1,810,811 ($9,546,141 total) {week 4}
9. Top Gun – $1,576,139 ($158,722,140 total) {week 24}
10. Stand By Me – $1,356,734 ($37,118,886 total) {week 12}
11. Blue Velvet – $357,699 ($4,528,216 total) {week 6}

Oscar Details:

• Crocodile Dundee: Original Screenplay
• The Color of Money: Actor (Paul Newman [O]), Supporting Actress (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction
• Peggy Sue Got Married: Actress (Kathleen Turner), Cinematography, Costume Design
• Children of a Lesser God: Picture, Actor (William Hurt), Actress (Marlee Matlin [O]), Supporting Actress (Piper Laurie), Adapted Screenplay
• Top Gun: Original Song (“Take My Breath Away” [O]), Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing
• Stand By Me: Adapted Screenplay
• Blue Velvet: Director (David Lynch)