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

Pirates! Band of Misfits (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Animated Feature.

The Raven (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup.

5 Years Ago: The Weekend of April 27-29, 2007

Weekend Box Office:

28. The Lives of Others – $305,838 ($9,067,448 total) {week 12}
34. Norbit – $170,972 ($95,323,496 total) {week 12}
37. After the Wedding – $113,873 ($572,218 total) {week 5}
51. Pan’s Labyrinth – $44,249 ($37,457,946 total) {week 18}
55. Happy Feet – $30,095 ($197,961,083 total) {week 24}
65. The Queen – $19,510 ($56,402,097 total) {week 31}
71. The Last King of Scotland – $12,694 ($17,578,013 total) {week 31}
95. Notes on a Scandal – $4,539 ($17,498,264 total) {week 18}
96. Iraq in Fragments – $3,795 ($190,788 total) {week 25}
119. Volver – $738 ($12,897,753 total) {week 26}
125. The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films – $425 ($328,896 total) {week 11}

Oscar Details:

• The 2006 Academy Award Nominated Short Films: Animated Short Film; Live Action Short Film
• After the Wedding: Foreign Language Film
• Happy Feet: Animated Feature [O]
• Iraq in Fragments: Documentary Feature
• The Last King of Scotland: Actor (Forest Whitaker [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 April 26-28, 2002

Weekend Box Office:

7. Ice Age – $5,020,786 ($165,830,108 total) {week 7}
15. Y Tu Mama Tambien – $1,001,255 ($7,244,423 total) {week 7}
16. My Big Fat Greek Wedding – $804,683 ($1,626,751 total) {week 2}
17. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $797,997 ($308,078,986 total) {week 19}
19. A Beautiful Mind – $676,095 ($169,348,761 total) {week 19}
20. Monster’s Ball – $595,201 ($29,275,075 total) {week 18}
26. The Time Machine – $261,635 ($56,072,240 total) {week 8}
37. Gosford Park – $137,055 ($40,912,994 total) {week 18}
38. Amelie – $135,783 ($32,531,149 total) {week 26}
43. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – $95,424 ($317,347,879 total) {week 24}
52. In the Bedroom – $54,455 ($35,810,154 total) {week 23}
53. Iris – $51,649 ($5,475,427 total) {week 20}
70. Monsters, Inc. – $22,970 ($253,052,952 total) {week 26}
999. Mulholland Drive – $3,575 ($7,217,058 total) {week 29}

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
• 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
• 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)
• 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
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Original Screenplay
• The Time Machine: Makeup
• Y Tu Mama Tambien: Original Screenplay

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of April 25-27, 1997

Weekend Box Office:

999. Jerry Maguire – $416,929 ($149,721,931 total) {week 20}
999. Evita – $58,772 ($49,994,804 total) {week 18}
999. A Chef in Love – $36,628 ($40,746 total) {week 1}

Oscar Details:

• A Chef in Love: Foreign Language Film
• 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

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of April 24-26, 1992

Weekend Box Office:

1. Basic Instinct – $5,355,420 ($77,976,444 total) {week 6}
11. My Cousin Vinny – $1,772,511 ($41,070,647 total) {week 7}
13. The Player – $1,562,650 ($2,465,567 total) {week 3}
999. Howards End – $357,596 ($1,202,235 total) {week 7}
999. Hook – $291,870 ($118,324,848 total) {week 20}

Oscar Details:

• Basic Instinct: Original Score, Editing
• 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 April 24-26, 1987

Weekend Box Office:

7. Platoon – $1,977,665 ($121,527,020 total) {week 19}
13. Crocodile Dundee – $751,185 ($164,154,817 total) {week 31}

Oscar Details:

• Crocodile Dundee: Original Screenplay
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]

30 Years Ago: The Weekend of April 23-25, 1982

Weekend Box Office:

3. Chariots of Fire – $2,085,480 ($42,230,436 total) {week 31}
6. On Golden Pond – $1,694,235 ($97,428,249 total) {week 21}
7. Victor/Victoria – $1,624,868 ($10,789,785 total) {week 6}
9. Quest for Fire – $956,555 ($17,526,889 total) {week 11}

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