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 Apr. 13-15, 2007

Weekend Box Office:

22. The Lives of Others – $484,508 ($8,142,845 total) {week 10}
34. After the Wedding – $115,477 ($256,328 total) {week 3}
40. Pan’s Labyrinth – $84,575 ($37,299,186 total) {week 16}
42. Dreamgirls – $82,720 ($103,338,338 total) {week 18}
44. Norbit – $75,283 ($94,890,319 total) {week 10}
49. Happy Feet – $55,605 ($197,865,227 total) {week 22}
54. The Queen – $49,041 ($56,316,202 total) {week 29}
58. The Last King of Scotland – $38,634 ($17,514,905 total) {week 29}
65. Notes on a Scandal – $19,289 ($17,470,271 total) {week 16}
70. Letters from Iwo Jima – $15,713 ($17,514,905 total) {week 29}
80. Volver – $6,338 ($12,887,091 total) {week 24}
83. Days of Glory – $5,470 ($310,765 total) {week 19}
94. The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films – $2,635 ($323,857 total) {week 9}
95. Iraq in Fragments – $2,591 ($177,396 total) {week 23}

Oscar Details:

• The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films: Animated Short Film; Live Action Short Film
• After the Wedding: Foreign Language Film
• Days of Glory: Foreign Language Film
• Dreamgirls: Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) [O], Original Song (“Listen”, “Love You I Do”, “Patience”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound [O]
• Happy Feet: Animated Feature [O]
• Iraq in Fragments: Documentary Feature
• The Last King of Scotland: Actor (Forest Whitaker [O])
• Letters from Iwo Jima: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing [O]
• The Lives of Others: Foreign Language Film
• Norbit: Makeup
• 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 Queen: Picture, Director, Actress (Helen Mirren [O]), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design
• Volver: Actress (Penelope Cruz)

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 12-14, 2002

Weekend Box Office:

4. Ice Age – $8,577,478 ($151,625,634 total) {week 5}
13. A Beautiful Mind – $1,457,335 ($167,135,186 total) {week 17}
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $1,219,369 ($305,819,565 total) {week 17}
16. Monster’s Ball – $1,040,241 ($26,722,813 total) {week 16}
17. Y Tu Mama Tambien – $1,016,570 ($4,465,073 total) {week 5}
23. The Time Machine – $420,255 ($55,485,362 total) {week 6}
30. Amelie – $233,952 ($32,012,485 total) {week 24}
31. Gosford Park – $219,811 ($40,471,000 total) {week 16}
35. Iris – $160,357 ($5,182,589 total) {week 18}
36. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – $155,086 ($317,048,532 total) {week 22}
44. I Am Sam – $92,309 ($40,270,895 total) {week 16}
45. In the Bedroom – $91,546 ($35,647,544 total) {week 21}
50. Monsters, Inc. – $66,766 ($252,971,449 total) {week 24}
56. Black Hawn Down – $32,714 ($108,638,745 total) {week 16}
63. No Man’s Land – $25,219 ($991,345 total) {week 19}
999. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius – $40,705 ($80,920,948 total) {week 17}
999. Mulholland Drive – $6,435 ($7,203,833 total) {week 27}

Oscar Details:

• 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)
• Ice Age: Animated Feature
• 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 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]
• 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 [O]
• The Time Machine: Makeup
• Y Tu Mama Tambien: Original Screenplay

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 11-13, 1997

Weekend Box Office:

14. The English Patient – $1,270,359 ($73,040,322 total) {week 22}
15. Sling Blade – $1,090,765 ($19,846,376 total) {week 19}
17. Jerry Maguire – $702,018 ($148,244,457 total) {week 18}
999. Evita – $182,259 ($49,716,042 total) {week 16}

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
• Jerry Maguire: Picture, Actor (Tom Cruise), Supporting Actor (Cuba Gooding Jr.) [O], Original Screenplay, Film Editing
• Sling Blade: Actor (Billy Bob Thornton), Adapted Screenplay [O]

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 10-12, 1992

Weekend Box Office:

2. Basic Instinct – $7,847,500 ($60,093,444 total) {week 4}
10. My Cousin Vinny – $3,010,887 ($34,944,232 total) {week 5}
14. Fried Green Tomatoes – $1,173,265 ($69,702,314 total) {week 16}
999. Hook – $428,248 ($117,272,082 total) {week 18}
999. Howards End – $43,556 ($380,417 total) {week 5}
999. The Player – $302,216 ($302,216 total) {week 1}

Oscar Details:

• Basic Instinct: Original Score, Editing
• Fried Green Tomatoes: Supporting Actress (Jessica Tandy), Adapted Screenplay
• Hook: Original Song (“When You’re Alone”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Visual Effects
• Howards End: Picture, Director, Actress (Emma Thompson) [O], Supporting Actress (Vanessa Redgrave), Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design
• My Cousin Vinny: Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei) [O]
• The Player: Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 10-12, 1987

Weekend Box Office:

6. Platoon – $2,937,411 ($114,398,785 total) {week 177}
11. Hoosiers – $877,979 ($23,796,366 total) {week 17}
12. Mannequin – $843,758 ($32,635,918 total) {week 9}

Oscar Details:

• Hoosiers: Supporting Actor (Dennis Hopper), Original Score
• Mannequin: Original Song (“Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now”)
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]

30 Years Ago: The Weekend of Apr. 9-11, 1982

Weekend Box Office:

3. Chariots of Fire – $3,434,399 ($34,848,533 total) {week 29}
4. On Golden Pond – $2,702,573 ($89,082,969 total) {week 19}
6. Victor/Victoria – $2,382,802 ($5,572,435 total) {week 4}
8. Quest for Fire – $1,671,891 ($14,352,043 total) {week 9}

Oscar Details:

• 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
• Quest for Fire: Makeup [O]
• Victor/Victoria: Actress (Julie Andrews), Supporting Actor (Robert Preston), Supporting Actress (Lesley Ann Warren), Adapted Screenplay, Original Song Score [O], Art Direction, Costume Design