Every week, we’ll take a look back in 5-year intervals at the box office past to explore how Oscar’s nominees were doing at the box office each weekend historically. All data is collected from Box Office Mojo. The first section under each year is the positioning of all Oscar nominees during that weekend at the box office (as well as a section looking at the inflation-adjusted numbers). The third 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 shots at this stage of the game. If you have any suggestions for more data you’d like to see, please let us know.
This Year: Potential Oscar Nominees Releasing This Weekend
Dumbo (Wide)
Oscar Potential: Original Score, Original Song, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects.
5 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 28-30, 2014
Weekend Box Office:
- The Grand Budapest Hotel – $8,539,795 ($24,171,610 total) {week 4}
- The Lego Movie – $3,018,060 ($248,216,780 total) {week 8}
- Frozen – $337,736 ($398,391,611 total) {week 19}
- 12 Years a Slave – $134,083 ($56,378,410 total) {week 24}
- Gravity – $121,981 ($273,312,639 total) {week 26}
- The Wind Rises – $121,923 ($4,922,675 total) {week 6}
- American Hustle – $107,603 ($150,017,421 total) {week 16}
- Philomena – $106,001 ($37,325,124 total) {week 19}
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $103,597 ($258,206,253 total) {week 16}
- Lone Survivor – $89,925 ($124,964,476 total) {week 14}
- The Wolf of Wall Street – $86,772 ($116,866,727 total) {week 14}
- Finding Vivian Maier – $63,600 ($63,600 total) {week 1}
- Dallas Buyers Club – $56,477 ($27,191,666 total) {week 22}
- Her – $48,944 ($25,459,687 total) {week 15}
- August: Osage County – $32,791 ($37,672,098 total) {week 14}
- Saving Mr. Banks – $31,610 ($83,262,224 total) {week 16}
- Ernest & Celestine – $30,813 ($128,869 total) {week 5}
- The Great Beauty – $24,520 ($2,784,687 total) {week 20}
- The Book Thief – $20,729 ($21,464,665 total) {week 21}
- The Invisible Woman – $7,837 ($1,206,953 total) {week 14}
- The Missing Picture – $7,711 ($25,665 total) {week 2}
- 20 Feet from Stardom – $1,628 ($4,938,075 total) {week 42}
- Blue Jasmine – $1,244 ($33,404,871 total) {week 36}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- The Grand Budapest Hotel – $9,553,700 ($27,041,434 total)
- The Lego Movie – $3,376,385 ($277,686,826 total)
- Frozen – $377,834 ($445,691,472 total)
- 12 Years a Slave – $150,002 ($63,072,052 total)
- Gravity – $136,463 ($305,762,242 total)
- The Wind Rises – $136,399 ($5,507,130 total)
- American Hustle – $120,378 ($167,828,547 total)
- Philomena – $118,586 ($41,756,626 total)
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug – $115,897 ($288,862,320 total)
- Lone Survivor – $100,602 ($139,801,140 total)
- The Wolf of Wall Street – $97,074 ($130,741,969 total)
- Finding Vivian Maier – $71,151 ($71,151 total)
- Dallas Buyers Club – $63,182 ($30,420,052 total)
- Her – $54,755 ($28,482,441 total)
- August: Osage County – $36,684 ($42,144,795 total)
- Saving Mr. Banks – $35,363 ($93,147,702 total)
- Ernest & Celestine – $34,471 ($144,169 total)
- The Great Beauty – $27,431 ($3,115,305 total)
- The Book Thief – $23,190 ($24,013,101 total)
- The Invisible Woman – $8,767 ($1,350,251 total)
- The Missing Picture – $8,627 ($28,712 total)
- 20 Feet from Stardom – $1,821 ($5,524,358 total)
- Blue Jasmine – $1,392 ($37,370,933 total)
Oscar Details:
- 12 Years a Slave: Picture [O], Directing, Actor (Chiwetel Ejiofor), Supporting Actor (Michael Fassbender), Supporting Actress (Lupita Nyong’o) [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Film Editing, Production Design, Costume Design
- 20 Feet from Stardom: Documentary Feature [O]
- American Hustle: Picture, Directing, Actor (Christian Bale), Actress (Amy Adams), Supporting Actor (Bradley Cooper), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Lawrence), Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Production Design, Costume Design
- August: Osage County: Actress (Meryl Streep), Supporting Actress (Julia Roberts)
- Blue Jasmine: Actress (Cate Blanchett) [O], Supporting Actress (Sally Hawkins), Original Screenplay
- The Book Thief: Original Score
- Dallas Buyers Club: Picture, Actor (Matthew McConaughey) [O], Supporting Actor (Jared Leto) [O], Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling [O]
- Ernest & Celestine: Animated Feature
- Finding Vivian Maier: Documentary Feature
- Frozen: Animated Feature [O], Original Song (“Let It Go”) [O]
- The Grand Budapest Hotel: Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay, Original Score [O], Film Editing, Cinematography, Production Design [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup and Hairstyling [O]
- Gravity: Picture, Directing [O], Actress (Sandra Bullock), Original Score [O], Film Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Production Design, Sound Mixing [O], Sound Editing [O], Visual Effects [O]
- The Great Beauty: Foreign Language Film [O]
- Her: Picture, Original Screenplay [O], Original Song (“The Moon Song”), Original Score, Production Design
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects
- The Invisible Woman: Costume Design
- The Lego Movie: Original Song (“Everything Is Awesome”)
- Lone Survivor: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
- The Missing Picture: Foreign Language Film
- Philomena: Picture, Actress (Judi Dench), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score
- Saving Mr. Banks: Original Score
- The Wind Rises: Animated Feature
- The Wolf of Wall Street: Picture, Directing, Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Supporting Actor (Jonah Hill), Adapted Screenplay
10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 27-29, 2009
Weekend Box Office:
- Slumdog Millionaire – $1,164,903 ($139,341,484 total) {week 20}
- The Reader – $308,495 ($33,484,347 total) {week 16}
- Coraline – $305,114 ($73,929,936 total) {week 8}
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – $208,157 ($127,023,019 total) {week 14}
- The Class – $181,697 ($3,064,397 total) {week 15}
- The Wrestler – $93,910 ($25,964,913 total) {week 15}
- Doubt – $82,339 ($33,337,239 total) {week 16}
- Revolutionary Road – $63,113 ($22,877,808 total) {week 14}
- Defiance – $48,982 ($28,471,672 total) {week 13}
- Milk – $35,394 ($31,789,774 total) {week 18}
- Waltz with Bashir – $18,420 ($2,220,157 total) {week 14}
- 12 – $7,743 ($51,252 total) {week 4}
- Katyn – $6,262 ($79,268 total) {week 6}
- Rachel Getting Married – $2,649 ($12,788,219 total) {week 26}
- The Betrayal – $703 ($35,565 total) {week 19}
- Trouble the Water – $676 ($519,377 total) {week 32}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- Slumdog Millionaire – $1,419,628 ($169,810,822 total)
- The Reader – $375,953 ($40,806,258 total)
- Coraline – $371,832 ($90,095,949 total)
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button – $253,674 ($154,798,719 total)
- The Class – $221,428 ($3,734,478 total)
- The Wrestler – $114,445 ($31,642,574 total)
- Doubt – $100,344 ($40,626,982 total)
- Revolutionary Road – $76,914 ($27,880,422 total)
- Defiance – $59,693 ($34,697,478 total)
- Milk – $43,133 ($38,741,138 total)
- Waltz with Bashir – $22,448 ($2,705,631 total)
- 12 – $9,436 ($62,459 total)
- Katyn – $7,631 ($96,601 total)
- Rachel Getting Married – $3,228 ($15,584,576 total)
- The Betrayal – $857 ($43,342 total)
- Trouble the Water – $824 ($632,947 total)
Oscar Details:
- 12: Foreign Language Film
- The Betrayal: Documentary Feature
- The Class: Foreign Language Film
- Coraline: Animated Feature
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: Picture, Director, Actor (Brad Pitt), Supporting Actress (Taraji P. Henson), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design, Makeup [O], Sound Mixing, Visual Effects [O]
- Defiance: Original Score
- Doubt: Actress (Meryl Streep), Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman), Supporting Actress (Amy Adams), Supporting Actress (Viola Davis), Adapted Screenplay
- Katyn: Foreign Language Film
- Milk: Picture, Director, Actor (Sean Penn) [O], Supporting Actor (Josh Brolin), Original Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Costume Design
- Rachel Getting Married: Actress (Anne Hathaway)
- The Reader: Picture, Director, Actress (Kate Winslet) [O], Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography
- Revolutionary Road: Supporting Actor (Michael Shannon), Art Direction, Costume Design
- Slumdog Millionaire: Picture [O], Director [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Song (“Jai Ho”) [O], Original Score [O], Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Sound Mixing [O], Sound Editing
- Trouble the Water: Documentary Feature
- Waltz with Bashir: Foreign Language Film
- The Wrestler: Actor (Mickey Rourke), Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei)
15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 26-28, 2004
Weekend Box Office:
- The Passion of the Christ – $12,593,974 ($315,152,778 total) {week 5}
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – $5,256,206 ($16,551,047 total) {week 2}
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – $705,817 ($374,556,572 total) {week 15}
- Monster – $274,903 ($33,954,784 total) {week 14}
- Mystic River – $244,114 ($88,768,441 total) {week 25}
- The Triplets of Belleville – $146,226 ($6,240,774 total) {week 18}
- Girl with a Pearl Earring – $140,253 ($11,064,769 total) {week 16}
- Something’s Gotta Give – $118,916 ($124,590,960 total) {week 16}
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – $116,948 ($93,557,809 total) {week 20}
- The Fog of War – $101,831 ($3,788,233 total) {week 15}
- My Architect – $86,252 ($1,915,526 total) {week 20}
- In America – $79,856 ($15,323,959 total) {week 18}
- Cold Mountain – $77,471 ($95,206,492 total) {week 14}
- The Last Samurai – $64,517 ($111,054,195 total) {week 17}
- House of Sand and Fog – $40,592 ($13,005,485 total) {week 15}
- Brother Bear – $35,957 ($85,292,962 total) {week 23}
- City of God – $27,248 ($7,356,909 total) {week 63}
- Big Fish – $22,309 ($66,402,088 total) {week 16}
- The Weather Underground – $3,195 ($547,671 total) {week 43}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- The Passion of the Christ – $18,536,058 ($463,848,050 total)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind – $7,736,187 ($24,360,156 total)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King – $1,038,835 ($551,279,721 total)
- Monster – $404,608 ($49,975,318 total)
- Mystic River – $359,292 ($130,651,135 total)
- The Triplets of Belleville – $215,218 ($9,185,294 total)
- Girl with a Pearl Earring – $206,427 ($16,285,344 total)
- Something’s Gotta Give – $175,023 ($183,375,423 total)
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World – $172,126 ($137,700,221 total)
- The Fog of War – $149,877 ($5,575,596 total)
- My Architect – $126,947 ($2,819,309 total)
- In America – $117,534 ($22,554,104 total)
- Cold Mountain – $114,023 ($140,126,785 total)
- The Last Samurai – $94,957 ($163,451,746 total)
- House of Sand and Fog – $59,744 ($19,141,728 total)
- Brother Bear – $52,922 ($125,535,857 total)
- City of God – $40,104 ($10,828,043 total)
- Big Fish – $32,835 ($97,731,898 total)
- The Weather Underground – $4,702 ($806,073 total)
Oscar Details:
- Big Fish: Original Score
- Brother Bear: Animated Feature
- City of God: Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography
- Cold Mountain: Actor (Jude Law), Supporting Actress (Renee Zellweger) [O], Original Song (“Scarlet Tide”), Original Song (“You Will Be My Ain True Love”), Original Score, Editing, Cinematography
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: Actress (Kate Winslet), Original Screenplay [O]
- The Fog of War: Documentary Feature [O]
- Girl with a Pearl Earring: Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design
- House of Sand and Fog: Actor (Ben Kingsley), Supporting Actress (Shohreh Aghdashloo), Original Score
- In America: Actress (Samantha Morton), Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou), Original Screenplay
- The Last Samurai: Supporting Actor (Ken Watanabe), Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound Mixing
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: Picture [O], Director [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Song (“Into the West”) [O], Original Score [O], Editing [O], Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup [O], Sound Mixing [O], Visual Effects [O]
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World: Picture, Director, Editing, Cinematography [O], Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing [O], Visual Effects
- Monster: Actress (Charlize Theron) [O]
- My Architect: Documentary Feature
- Mystic River: Picture, Director, Actor (Sean Penn) [O], Supporting Actor (Tim Robbins) [O], Supporting Actress (Marcia Gay Harden), Adapted Screenplay
- The Passion of the Christ : Original Score, Cinematography, Makeup
- Something’s Gotta Give: Actress (Diane Keaton)
- The Triplets of Belleville: Animated Feature, Original Song (“Belleville Rendez-vous”)
- The Weather Underground: Documentary Feature
20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 26-28, 1999
Weekend Box Office:
- Shakespeare in Love – $4,284,169 ($79,286,275 total) {week 16}
- Life Is Beautiful – $3,244,284 ($40,685,400 total) {week 23}
- Saving Private Ryan – $970,435 ($211,697,803 total) {week 36}
- A Bug’s Life – $529,461 ($160,543,623 total) {week 19}
- Elizabeth – $464,009 ($28,571,549 total) {week 21}
- Patch Adams – $444,310 ($133,254,845 total) {week 14}
- The Prince of Egypt – $378,443 ($98,851,843 total) {week 15}
- Affliction – $349,967 ($5,261,777 total) {week 13}
- Gods and Monsters – $342,793 ($5,144,371 total) {week 21}
- Central Station – $208,357 ($4,949,119 total) {week 19}
- Tango – $158,698 ($1,045,214 total) {week 10}
- Mighty Joe Young – $93,372 ($50,500,530 total) {week 14}
- Hilary and Jackie – $74,221 ($4,692,592 total) {week 13}
- The Thin Red Line – $65,470 ($36,066,881 total) {week 14}
- Children of Heaven – $58,425 ($626,564 total) {week 10}
- Pleasantville – $41,543 ($40,568,025 total) {week 23}
- A Simple Plan – $37,591 ($15,915,352 total) {week 16}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- Shakespeare in Love – $7,708,131 ($142,652,865 total)
- Life Is Beautiful – $5,837,157 ($73,201,684 total)
- Saving Private Ryan – $1,746,019 ($380,889,354 total)
- A Bug’s Life – $952,613 ($288,852,109 total)
- Elizabeth – $834,851 ($51,406,291 total)
- Patch Adams – $799,408 ($239,753,796 total)
- The Prince of Egypt – $680,899 ($177,855,481 total)
- Affliction – $629,665 ($9,467,055 total)
- Gods and Monsters – $616,757 ($9,255,817 total)
- Central Station – $374,879 ($8,904,517 total)
- Tango – $285,531 ($1,880,562 total)
- Mighty Joe Young – $167,996 ($90,861,190 total)
- Hilary and Jackie – $133,539 ($8,442,971 total)
- The Thin Red Line – $117,794 ($64,891,987 total)
- Children of Heaven – $105,119 ($1,127,322 total)
- Pleasantville – $74,745 ($72,990,502 total)
- A Simple Plan – $67,634 ($28,635,102 total)
Oscar Details:
- Affliction: Actor (Nick Nolte), Supporting Actor (James Coburn) [O]
- A Bug’s Life: Original Musical or Comedy Score
- Central Station: Actress (Fernanda Montenegro), Foreign Language Film
- Children of Heaven: Foreign Language Film
- Elizabeth: Picture, Actress (Cate Blanchett), Original Dramatic Score, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup
- Gods and Monsters: Actor (Ian McKellen), Supporting Actress (Lynn Redgrave), Adapted Screenplay [O]
- Hilary and Jackie: Actress (Emily Watson), Supporting Actress (Rachel Griffiths)
- Life Is Beautiful: Picture, Director, Actor (Roberto Benigni) [O], Original Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score [O], Editing, Foreign Language Film [O]
- Mighty Joe Young: Visual Effects
- Patch Adams: Original Musical or Comedy Score
- Pleasantville: Original Dramatic Score, Art Direction, Costume Design
- The Prince of Egypt: Original Song (“When You Believe”) [O], Original Musical or Comedy Score
- Saving Private Ryan: Picture, Director [O], Actor (Tom Hanks), Original Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score, Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Art Direction, Makeup, Sound [O], Sound Effects [O]
- Shakespeare in Love: Picture [O], Director, Actress (Gwyneth Paltrow) [O], Supporting Actor (Geoffrey Rush), Supporting Actress (Judi Dench) [O], Original Screenplay [O], Original Musical or Comedy Score [O], Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup, Sound
- A Simple Plan: Supporting Actor (Billy Bob Thornton), Adapted Screenplay
- Tango: Foreign Language Film
- The Thin Red Line: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Original Dramatic Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound
25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 1-3, 1994
Weekend Box Office:
- The Paper – $5,604,720 ($12,861,015 total) {week 3}
- Schindler’s List – $3,800,505 ($74,704,348 total) {week 16}
- Four Weddings and a Funeral – $2,035,679 ($2,600,142 total) {week 4}
- Mrs. Doubtfire – $1,675,859 ($210,320,008 total) {week 19}
- Philadelphia – $1,329,247 ($68,151,169 total) {week 15}
- The Piano – $777,459 ($37,097,766 total) {week 22}
- Jurassic Park – $200,075 ($345,595,470 total) {week 43}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- The Paper – $12,255,297 ($28,121,932 total)
- Schindler’s List – $8,310,195 ($163,348,742 total)
- Four Weddings and a Funeral – $4,451,222 ($5,685,478 total)
- Mrs. Doubtfire – $3,664,438 ($459,886,333 total)
- Philadelphia – $2,906,535 ($149,019,542 total)
- The Piano – $1,699,994 ($81,118,082 total)
- Jurassic Park – $437,485 ($755,680,047 total)
Oscar Details:
- Four Weddings and a Funeral: Picture, Original Screenplay
- Jurassic Park: Sound [O], Sound Effects [O], Visual Effects [O]
- Mrs. Doubtfire: Makeup [O]
- The Paper : Original Song (“Make Up Your Mind”)
- Philadelphia: Actor (Tom Hanks) [O], Original Screenplay, Original Song (“Philadelphia”), Original Song (“Streets of Philadelphia”) [O]
- The Piano: Picture, Director, Actress (Holly Hunter) [O], Supporting Actress (Anna Paquin) [O], Original Screenplay [O], Editing, Cinematography, Costume Design
- Schindler’s List: Picture [O], Director [O], Actor (Liam Neeson), Supporting Actor (Ralph Fiennes), Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score [O], Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Art Direction [O], Costume Design, Makeup, Sound
30 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 31-Apr. 2, 1989
Weekend Box Office:
- Rain Man – $5,537,165 ($142,319,201 total) {week 16}
- Chances Are – $1,750,825 ($13,044,692 total) {week 4}
- Dangerous Liaisons – $1,680,681 ($27,452,502 total) {week 15}
- Working Girl – $1,327,963 ($58,701,758 total) {week 15}
- The Adventures of Baron Munchaussen – $549,274 ($3,198,063 total) {week 4}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- Rain Man – $12,748,032 ($327,656,800 total)
- Chances Are – $4,030,867 ($30,032,364 total)
- Dangerous Liaisons – $3,869,376 ($63,202,989 total)
- Working Girl – $3,057,325 ($135,147,120 total)
- The Adventures of Baron Munchaussen – $1,264,575 ($7,362,795 total)
Oscar Details:
- The Adventures of Baron Munchaussen : Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Visual Effects
- Chances Are: Original Score (“After All”)
- Dangerous Liaisons: Picture, Actress (Glenn Close), Supporting Actress (Michelle Pfeiffer), Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O]
- Rain Man: Picture [O], Director [O], Actor (Dustin Hoffman) [O], Original Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction
- Working Girl: Picture, Director, Actress (Melanie Griffith), Supporting Actress (Joan Cusack), Supporting Actress (Sigourney Weaver), Original Song (“Let the River Run”) [O]
35 Years Ago: The Weekend of Mar. 30-Apr. 1, 1984
Weekend Box Office:
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes – $6,517,732 ($6,517,732 total) {week 1}
- Splash – $5,584,853 ($31,461,937 total) {week 4}
- Romancing the Stone – $5,105,741 ($5,105,741 total) {week 1}
- Footloose – $4,166,896 ($49,528,265 total) {week 7}
- Against All Odds – $1,668,891 ($17,541,162 total) {week 5}
- Terms of Endearment – $899,275 ($93,044,379 total) {week 19}
Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes – $17,729,783 ($17,729,783 total)
- Splash – $15,192,130 ($85,583,960 total)
- Romancing the Stone – $13,888,831 ($13,888,831 total)
- Footloose – $11,334,949 ($134,728,673 total)
- Against All Odds – $4,539,781 ($47,716,137 total)
- Terms of Endearment – $2,446,242 ($253,102,864 total)
Oscar Details:
- Against All Odds: Original Song (“Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)”)
- Footloose: Original Song (“Footloose”, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy”)
- Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes: Supporting Actor (Ralph Richardson), Adapted Screenplay, Makeup
- Romancing the Stone: Editing
- Splash: Original Screenplay
- Terms of Endearment: Picture [O], Directing [O], Actress (Shirley MacLaine) [O], Actress (Debra Winger), Supporting Actor (John Lithgow), Supporting Actor (Jack Nicholson) [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Art Direction, Sound
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