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 Jan. 5-7, 2007

Weekend Box Office:

2. The Pursuit of Happyness – $12,880,926 ($124,039,482 total) {week 4}
3. Children of Men – $10,197,775 ($11,805,273 total) {week 2}
5. Dreamgirls – $8,663,380 ($54,322,145 total) {week 4}
8. The Good Shepherd – $6,446,345 ($48,344,025 total) {week 3}
13. Happy Feet – $4,004,462 ($185,414,182 total) {week 8}
15. Blood Diamond – $3,822,423 ($43,894,082 total) {week 5}
18. Apocalypto – $1,762,525 ($47,335,193 total) {week 5}
19. Notes on a Scandal – $1,125,281 ($2,056,476 total) {week 2}
20. The Queen – $1,048,232 ($29,933,112 total) {week 15}
21. Pan’s Labyrinth – $763,795 ($1,853,154 total) {week 2}
23. Volver – $596,869 ($5,959,367 total) {week 10}
26. Borat – $467,034 ($126,557,312 total) {week 10}
27. Babel – $454,022 ($20,744,537 total) {week 11}
28. Little Children – $385,217 ($2,994,348 total) {week 14}
29. The Curse of the Golden Flower – $335,759 ($2,219,011 total) {week 3}
31. The Departed – $296,547 ($120,927,301 total) {week 14}
36. The Prestige – $151,816 ($52,782,382 total) {week 12}
39. The Good German – $86,958 ($636,726 total) {week 4}
41. Letters from Iwo Jima – $79,297 ($472,372 total) {week 3}
51. Little Miss Sunshine – $27,865 ($59,548,063 total) {week 24}
52. Venus – $27,195 ($166,276 total) {week 3}
53. The Last King of Scotland – $26,461 ($3,668,990 total) {week 15}
56. The Illusionist – $20,610 ($39,815,352 total) {week 21}
77. Jesus Camp – $4,255 ($878,623 total) {week 17}
90. Iraq in Fragments – $946 ($65,573 total) {week 7}

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]
• 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 Prestige: Cinematography, Art Direction
• 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 Jan. 4-6, 2002

Weekend Box Office:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $23,006,447 ($205,509,869 total) {week 3}
2. A Beautiful Mind – $16,565,820 ($37,779,241 total) {week 3}
4. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius – $9,015,854 ($62,339,089 total) {week 3}
7. Ali – $7,006,528 ($49,467,604 total) {week 2}
9. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – $5,930,425 ($300,404,434 total) {week 8}
10. Monsters, Inc. – $3,877,647 ($244,638,458 total) {week 10}
18. In the Bedroom – $1,637,851 ($4,275,876 total) {week 7}
19. Gosford Park – $1,567,041 ($2,193,544 total) {week 2}
21. Amelie – $1,024,884 ($17,695,648 total) {week 10}
26. Black Hawn Down – $193,021 ($558,812 total) {week 2}
27. Mulholland Drive – $150,920 ($5,780,033 total) {week 13}
28. Monser’s Ball – $133,208 ($385,688 total) {week 2}
33. The Man Who Wasn’t There – $83,864 ($6,971,906 total) {week 10}
42. No Man’s Land – $43,926 ($295,104 total) {week 5}
50. I Am Sam – $25,993 ($111,089 total) {week 2}
54. Iris – $20,138 ($77,735 total) {week 3}
55. Ghost World – $19,759 ($6,122,747 total) {week 20}
61. Moulin Rouge! – $14,660 ($57,065,562 total) {week 34}

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]
• Ghost World: Adapted Screenplay
• 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
• Iris: Actress (Judi Dench), Supporting Actor (Jim Broadbent) [O], Supporting Actress (Kate Winslet)
• Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Animated Feature
• The Man Who Wasn’t There: Cinematography
• Monser’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
• Moulin Rouge!: Picture, Actress (Nicole Kidman), Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup, Sound
• Mulholland Drive: Director
• No Man’s Land: Foreign Language Film
• 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]

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Jan. 3-5, 1997

Weekend Box Office:

2. Jerry Maguire – $12,030,145 ($83,006,355 total) {week 4}
5. One Fine Day – $6,218,887 ($32,246,925 total) {week 3}
7. Ghosts of Mississippi – $5,016,767 ($5,782,753 total) {week 3}
11. The English Patient – $2,732,463 ($28,007,132 total) {week 8}
15. Star Trek: First Contact – $1,760,201 ($89,128,389 total) {week 7}
19. The Crucible – $1,319,366 ($4,652,487 total) {week 6}
20. Evita – $1,064,660 ($2,225,737 total) {week 2}
21. Romeo + Juliet – $604,009 ($44,798,596 total) {week 2}
22. The People vs. Larry Flynt – $597,692 ($1,744,214 total) {week 2}
999. Independence Day – $8,116 ($306,167,040 total) {week 27}

Oscar Details:

• The Crucible: Supporting Actress (Joan Allen), Adapted Screenplay
• 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
• Ghosts of Mississippi: Supporting Actor (James Woods), Makeup
• Independence Day: Sound, Visual Effects [O]
• 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)
• Romeo + Juliet: Art Direction
• Star Trek: First Contact: Makeup

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Jan. 3-5, 1992

Weekend Box Office:

1. Hook – $11,472,860 ($82,068,245 total) {week 4}
3. Beauty and the Beast – $8,804,918 ($82,470,981 total) {week 8}
4. The Prince of Tides – $8,506,482 ($31,290,397 total) {week 2}
6. JFK – $6,823,544 ($30,855,433 total) {week 3}
7. Bugsy – $5,365,950 ($25,313,262 total) {week 4}
8. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – $4,679,441 ($60,541,445 total) {week 5}
9. The Addams Family – $4,581,225 ($98,427,931 total) {week 7}
11. Cape Fear – $3,520,025 ($65,633,297 total) {week 8}
999. Fried Green Tomatoes – $196,879 ($465,609 total) {week 2}
999. Grand Canyon – $71,618 ($264,933 total) {week 2}

Oscar Details:

• The Addams Family: Costume Design
• Beauty and the Beast: Picture, Original Score [O], Original Song (“Be Our Guest”, “Beauty and the Beast” [O], “Belle”), Sound
• Bugsy: Picture, Director, Actor (Warren Beatty), Supporting Actor (Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O]
• Cape Fear: Actor (Robert De Niro), Supporting Actress (Juliette Lewis)
• 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
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: Original Score, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects Editing

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Jan. 2-4, 1987

Weekend Box Office:

2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – $6,193,836 ($81,263,842 total) {week 7}
3. Crocodile Dundee – $4,676,392 ($122,920,198 total) {week 15}
8. Heartbreak Ridge – $3,240,994 ($34,909,032 total) {week 5}
9. An American Tail – $2,698,775 ($37,195,596 total) {week 7}
15. Platoon – $1,645,169 ($3,621,038 total) {week 3}

Oscar Details:

• An American Tail: Original Song (“Somewhere Out There”)
• Crocodile Dundee: Original Screenplay
• Heartbreak Ridge: Sound
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: Original Score, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects Editing