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

Men in Black 3 (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects.

Moonrise Kingdom (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Original Screenplay.

5 Years Ago: The Weekend of May 25-27, 2007

Weekend Box Office:

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – $114,732,820 ($127,972,864 total) {week 1}
12. Away from Her – $747,834 ($2,369,175 total) {week 4}
19. Once – $332,136 ($436,931 total) {week 2}
27. The Lives of Others – $150,887 ($10,192,152 total) {week 16}
33. After the Wedding – $80,940 ($1,156,666 total) {week 9}
59. Pan’s Labyrinth – $12,454 ($37,602,346 total) {week 22}
101. Iraq in Fragments – $618 ($198,022 total) {week 29}

Oscar Details:

• After the Wedding: Foreign Language Film
• Away from Her: Actress (Julie Christie), Adapted Screenplay
• Iraq in Fragments: Documentary Feature
• The Lives of Others: Foreign Language Film
• Once: Original Song [O]
• Pan’s Labyrinth: Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography [O], Art Direction [O], Makeup [O], Foreign Language Film
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End: Makeup, Visual Effects

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of May 24-26, 2002

Weekend Box Office:

1. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones – $47,880,532 ($189,186,353 total) {week 2}
2. Spider-Man – $28,508,104 ($326,334,752 total) {week 4}
4. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron – $17,770,036 ($17,770,036 total) {week 1}
6. About a Boy – $7,862,150 ($19,793,345 total) {week 2}
7. Unfaithful – $6,098,861 ($39,541,162 total) {week 3}
11. My Big Fat Greek Wedding – $1,247,000 ($7,300,000 total) {week 6}
29. Monster’s Ball – $60,776 ($31,145,610 total) {week 22}
999. Ice Age – $409,700 ($173,053,506 total) {week 11}
999. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $358,567 ($310,629,729 total) {week 23}
999. A Beautiful Mind – $116,150 ($170,680,716 total) {week 23}

Oscar Details:

• About a Boy: Adapted Screenplay
• A Beautiful Mind: Picture [O], Director [O], Actor (Russell Crowe), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Connelly) [O], Adapted Screenplay [O], Original Score, Editing, Makeup
• Ice Age: 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
• My Big Fat Greek Wedding: Original Screenplay
• Spider-Man: Sound, Visual Effects
• Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron: Animated Feature
• Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones: Visual Effects
• Unfaithful: Actress (Diane Lane)

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of May 23-26, 1997

Weekend Box Office:

1. The Lost World: Jurassic Park – $90,161,880 ($92,729,064 total) {week 1}

Oscar Details:

• The Lost World: Jurassic Park: Visual Effects

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of May 22-25, 1992

Weekend Box Office:

2. Alien 3 – $23,141,188 ($23,141,188 total) {week 1}
5. Basic Instinct – $3,215,557 ($98,223,691 total) {week 10}
8. The Player – $1,966,647 ($12,315,465 total) {week 7}
11. My Cousin Vinny – $1,132,786 ($47,422,314 total) {week 11}
13. Howards End – $755,171 ($3,462,640 total) {week 11}

Oscar Details:

• Alien 3: Visual Effects
• Basic Instinct: Original Score, Editing
• 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 May 22-25, 1987

Weekend Box Office:

1. Beverly Hills Cop II – $33,014,153 ($40,629,949 total) {week 1}
7. Platoon – $1,310,511 ($129,397,905 total) {week 23}

Oscar Details:

• Beverly Hills Cop II: Original Song (“Shakedown”)
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]

30 Years Ago: The Weekend of May 21-23, 1982

Weekend Box Office:

7. Chariots of Fire – $1,291,793 ($50,967,438 total) {week 35}
8. Victor/Victoria – $1,102,000 ($17,378,798 total) {week 10}
12. On Golden Pond – $554,836 ($104,810,694 total) {week 25}
13. Annie – $510,632 ($510,632 total) {week 1}
16. Quest for Fire – $224,894 ($20,490,183 total) {week 15}
17. Diner – $218,221 ($218,221 total) {week 12}

Oscar Details:

• Annie: Original Song Score, Art Direction
• Chariots of Fire: Picture [O], Director, Supporting Actor (Ian Holm), Original Screenplay [O], Original Score [O], Editing, Costume Design [O]
• Diner: Original Screenplay
• 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