Every week, we’ll take a look back 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 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

None

5 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 9-11, 2007

Weekend Box Office:

8. Pan’s Labyrinth – $3,577,283 ($26,619,057 total) {week 7}
9. Dreamgirls – $2,980,967 ($97,006,872 total) {week 9}
10. The Queen – $2,373,121 ($48,897,648 total) {week 20}
12. The Pursuit of Happyness – $2,353,543 ($160,490,618 total) {week 9}
14. Letters from Iwo Jima – $1,729,451 ($9,935,921 total) {week 8}
15. Babel – $1,677,367 ($32,019,555 total) {week 16}
16. Notes on a Scandal – $1,542,843 ($13,926,668 total) {week 7}
17. The Departed – $1,342,338 ($130,744,874 total) {week 19}
18. The Last King of Scotland – $1,340,740 ($11,449,370 total) {week 20}
20. Children of Men – $809,190 ($33,924,363 total) {week 7}
21. Blood Diamond – $784,416 ($55,104,016 total) {week 10}
24. Volver – $579,982 ($10,946,263 total) {week 15}
25. Happy Feet – $533,160 ($193,383,272 total) {week 13}
27. Venus – $470,071 ($1,837,193 total) {week 8}
34. Little Children – $229,487 ($4,701,836 total) {week 19}
36. The Lives of Others – $213,589 ($220,971 total) {week 1}
39. The Good Shepherd – $171,925 ($59,731,690 total) {week 8}
42. Apocalypto – $160,207 ($50,612,000 total) {week 10}
46. Borat – $123,487 ($128,262,372 total) {week 15}
50. The Curse of the Golden Flower – $65,378 ($6,466,942 total) {week 8}
52. The Good German – $64,029 ($1,111,392 total) {week 9}
62. Little Miss Sunshine – $29,062 ($59,719,677 total) {week 29}
73. Iraq in Fragments – $6,924 ($97,688 total) {week 12}
92. Jesus Camp – $1,875 ($901,531 total) {week 22}
98. The Illusionist – $1,380 ($39,867,879 total) {week 26}

Oscar Details:

• Apocalypto: Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Babel: Picture, Supporting Actress (Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi), Director, Original Screenplay, Original Score [O], Editing
• Blood Diamond: Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou), Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Borat: Adapted Screenplay
• Children of Men: Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography
• The Curse of the Golden Flower: Costume Design
• The Departed: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg), Adapted Screenplay [O], Editing
• Dreamgirls: Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) [O], Original Song (“Listen”, “Love You I Do”, “Patience”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound [O]
• The Good German: Original Score
• The Good Shepherd: Art Direction
• Happy Feet: Animated Feature [O]
• The Illusionist: Cinematography
• Iraq in Fragments: Documentary Feature
• Jesus Camp: Documentary Feature
• The Last King of Scotland: Actor (Forest Whitaker [O])
• Letters from Iwo Jima: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing [O]
• Little Children: Actress (Kate Winslet), Supporting Actor (Jackie Earle Haley), Adapted Screenplay
• Little Miss Sunshine: Picture, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin [O]), Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin), Original Screenplay [O]
• The Lives of Others: Foreign Language Film
• Notes on a Scandal: Actress (Judi Dench), Supporting Actress (Cate Blanchett), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score
• Pan’s Labyrinth: Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography [O], Art Direction [O], Makeup [O], Foreign Language Film
• The Pursuit of Happyness: Actor (Will Smith)
• The Queen: Picture, Director, Actress (Helen Mirren [O]), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design
• Venus: Actor (Peter O’Toole)
• Volver: Actress (Penelope Cruz)

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 8-10, 2002

Weekend Box Office:

4. Black Hawn Down – $8,003,621 ($86,716,746 total) {week 7}
7. A Beautiful Mind – $6,304,800 ($113,271,766 total) {week 8}
10. I Am Sam – $4,619,148 ($23,843,342 total) {week 7}
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $3,618,397 ($271,416,919 total) {week 8}
12. Monster’s Ball – $2,321,246 ($3,938,683 total) {week 7}
13. Gosford Park – $1,891,252 ($22,020,111 total) {week 7}
14. In the Bedroom – $1,694,211 ($19,291,142 total) {week 12}
23. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius – $721,706 ($78,614,532 total) {week 7}
24. Amelie – $699,592 ($24,567,592 total) {week 15}
25. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – $553,302 ($313,736,007 total) {week 13}
31. Monsters, Inc. – $280,877 ($251,644,856 total) {week 15}
40. Mulholland Drive – $73,485 ($6,649,583 total) {week 18}
47. Ali – $40,318 ($58,183,966 total) {week 7}
48. No Man’s Land – $34,400 ($499,572 total) {week 10}
54. The Man Who Wasn’t There – $23,984 ($7,408,032 total) {week 15}

Oscar Details:

• Ali: Actor (Will Smith), Supporting Actor (Jon Voight)
• Amelie: Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound, Foreign Language Film
• A Beautiful Mind: Picture [O], Director [O], Actor (Russell Crowe), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly) [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Makeup
• Black Hawn Down: Director, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]
• Gosford Park: Picture, Director, Supporting Actress (Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith), Original Screenplay [O], Art Direction, Costume Design
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Original Score, Art Direction, Costume Design
• I Am Sam: Actor (Sean Penn)
• In the Bedroom: Picture, Actor (Tom Wilkinson), Actress (Sissy Spacek), Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei), Adapted Screenplay
• Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Animated Feature
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Ian McKellen), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score [O], Original Song (“May It Be”), Editing, Cinematography [O], Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup [O], Sound, Visual Effects [O]
• The Man Who Wasn’t There: Cinematography
• Monster’s Ball: Actress (Halle Berry) [O], Original Screenplay
• Monsters, Inc.: Animated Feature, Original Song (If I Didn’t Have You [O]), Original Score, Sound Editing
• Mulholland Drive: Director
• No Man’s Land: Foreign Language Film

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 7-9, 1997

Weekend Box Office:

4. Jerry Maguire – $3,580,033 ($121,282,251 total) {week 9}
6. Evita – $3,001,066 ($40,993,867 total) {week 7}
8. The English Patient – $2,237,749 ($42,013,561 total) {week 13}
15. Shine – $1,030,587 ($15,992,423 total) {week 11}
21. The People vs. Larry Flynt – $600,288 ($18,778,141 total) {week 7}
23. One Fine Day – $411,984 ($44,230,542 total) {week 8}
26. Hamlet – $344,057 ($2,121,048 total) {week 5}

Oscar Details:

• The English Patient: Picture [O], Director [O], Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Actress (Kristin Scott Thomas), Supporting Actress (Juliette Binoche [O]), Adapted Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score [O], Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Sound [O]
• Evita: Original Song (“You Must Love Me”) [O], Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound
• Hamlet: Adapted Screenplay, Drama Score, Art Direction, Costume Design
• Jerry Maguire: Picture, Actor (Tom Cruise), Supporting Actor (Cuba Gooding Jr.) [O], Original Screenplay, Film Editing
• One Fine Day: Original Song (“For the First Time”)
• The People vs. Larry Flynt: Director, Actor (Woody Harrelson)
• Shine: Picture, Director, Actor (Geoffrey Rush) [O], Supporting Actor (Armin Mueller-Stahl), Original Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score, Editing

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 7-9, 1992

Weekend Box Office:

4. Fried Green Tomatoes – $6,157,290 ($25,342,589 total) {week 7}
7. Grand Canyon – $2,461,245 ($23,988,943 total) {week 7}
8. Beauty and the Beast – $2,309,007 ($106,427,543 total) {week 13}
9. JFK – $2,308,799 ($57,947,808 total) {week 8}
10. Hook – $2,101,370 ($109,921,554 total) {week 9}
11. The Prince of Tides – $2,039,017 ($59,191,494 total) {week 7}

Oscar Details:

• Beauty and the Beast: Picture, Original Score [O], Original Song (“Be Our Guest”, “Beauty and the Beast” [O], “Belle”), Sound
• Fried Green Tomatoes: Supporting Actress (Jessica Tandy), Adapted Screenplay
• Grand Canyon: Original Screenplay
• Hook: Original Song (“When You’re Alone”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Visual Effects
• JFK: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Sound
• The Prince of Tides: Picture, Actor (Nick Nolte), Supporting Actress (Kate Nelligan), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 6-8, 1987

Weekend Box Office:

1. Platoon – $8,179,149 ($38,342,073 total) {week 8}
6. Crocodile Dundee – $2,589,206 ($143,241,200 total) {week 20}
8. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – $1,608,416 ($101,704,122 total) {week 12}
10. Radio Days – $1,318,002 ($3,421,661 total) {week 2}
13. The Mission – $963,000 ($10,991,140 total) {week 11}
999. Children of a Lesser God – $105,911 ($22,116,653 total) {week 12}
999. A Room with a View – $75,973 ($11,481,779 total) {week 3}

Oscar Details:

• Children of a Lesser God: Picture, Actor (William Hurt), Actress (Marlee Matlin [O]), Supporting Actress (Piper Laurie), Adapted Screenplay
• Crocodile Dundee: Original Screenplay
• The Mission: Picture, Director, Original Score, Editing, Cinematography [O], Art Direction, Costume Design
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]
• Radio Days: Original Screenplay, Art Direction
• A Room with a View: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Denholm Elliott), Supporting Actress (Maggie Smith), Adapted Screenplay [O], Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O]
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: Original Score, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects Editing

30 Years Ago: The Weekend of Feb. 5-7, 1982

Weekend Box Office:

1. On Golden Pond – $4,900,463 ($19,255,967 total) {week 10}
2. Absence of Malice – $1,837,530 ($32,739,501 total) {week 12}
5. Chariots of Fire – $1,669,582 ($7,627,460 total) {week 11}
7. Raiders of the Lost Ark – $1,281,561 ($187,406,147 total) {week 12}
10. Reds – $886,581 ($28,116,972 total) {week 10}

Oscar Details:

• Absence of Malice: Actor (Paul Newman), Supporting Actress (Melinda Dillon), Original Screenplay
• Chariots of Fire: Picture [O], Director, Supporting Actor (Ian Holm), Original Screenplay [O], Original Score [O], Editing, Costume Design [O]
• On Golden Pond: Picture, Director, Actor (Henry Fonda) [O], Actress (Katharine Hepburn) [O], Supporting Actress (Jane Fonda), Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound
• Raiders of the Lost Ark: Picture, Director, Original Score, Editing [O], Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Sound [O], Sound Effects Editing [O], Visual Effects [O]
• Reds: Picture, Director [O], Actor (Warren Beatty), Actress (Diane Keaton), Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson), Supporting Actress (Maureen Stapleton) [O], Original Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography [O], Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound