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 Sept. 5-7, 2008

Weekend Box Office:

2. Tropic Thunder – $7,230,710 ($96,541,629 total) {week 4}
3. The Dark Knight – $5,515,119 ($511,997,658 total) {week 8}
11. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – $2,115,668 ($16,026,700 total) {week 4}
22. WALL-E – $774,300 ($219,398,090 total) {week 11}
26. Kung Fu Panda – $388,218 ($214,227,690 total) {week 14}
29. Frozen River – $282,428 ($1,153,521 total) {week 6}
31. Man on Wire – $208,522 ($1,802,569 total) {week 7}
37. Hellboy II: The Golden Army – $144,305 ($75,602,005 total) {week 9}
39. Iron Man – $126,734 ($318,006,770 total) {week 19}
40. Wanted – $116,985 ($134,168,655 total) {week 11}
50. Trouble the Water – $41,900 ($146,384 total) {week 3}
63. The Visitor – $22,036 ($9,359,138 total) {week 22}
69. Encounters at the End of the World – $17,772 ($861,707 total) {week 13}
80. Mongol – $11,503 ($5,701,643 total) {week 14}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

2. Tropic Thunder – $7,996,078 ($106,760,520 total)
3. The Dark Knight – $6,098,892 ($566,192,396 total)
11. Vicky Cristina Barcelona – $2,339,611 ($17,723,119 total)
22. WALL-E – $856,259 ($242,621,286 total)
26. Kung Fu Panda – $429,311 ($236,903,601 total)
29. Frozen River – $312,323 ($1,275,621 total)
31. Man on Wire – $230,594 ($1,993,370 total)
37. Hellboy II: The Golden Army – $159,580 ($83,604,446 total)
39. Iron Man – $140,149 ($351,667,654 total)
40. Wanted – $129,368 ($148,370,351 total)
50. Trouble the Water – $46,335 ($161,879 total)
63. The Visitor – $24,369 ($10,349,799 total)
69. Encounters at the End of the World – $19,653 ($952,918 total)
80. Mongol – $12,721 ($6,305,160 total)

Oscar Details:

• The Dark Knight: Supporting Actor (Heath Ledger) [O], Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing [O], Visual Effects
• Encounters at the End of the World: Documentary Feature
• Frozen River: Actress (Melissa Leo), Original Screenplay
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army: Makeup
• Iron Man: Sound Editing, Visual Effects
• Kung Fu Panda: Animated Feature
• Man on Wire: Documentary Feature [O]
• Mongol: Foreign Language Film
• Tropic Thunder: Supporting Actor (Robert Downey Jr.)
• Trouble the Water: Documentary Feature
• Vicky Cristina Barcelona: Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz) [O]
• The Visitor: Actor (Richard Jenkins)
• WALL-E: Animated Feature [O], Original Screenplay, Original Song (“Down to Earth”), Original Score, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Wanted: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Sept. 5-7, 2003

Weekend Box Office:

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – $5,271,528 ($281,831,452 total) {week 9}
8. Seabiscuit – $3,705,320 ($109,642,685 total) {week 7}
18. Whale Rider – $894,293 ($18,129,128 total) {week 14}
19. Dirty Pretty Things – $852,661 ($5,771,124 total) {week 8}
20. Finding Nemo – $804,150 ($333,843,390 total) {week 15}
21. Thirteen – $624,611 ($1,861,652 total) {week 3}
22. American Splendor – $580,938 ($2,829,651 total) {week 4}
31. Winged Migration – $251,577 ($9,505,323 total) {week 21}
51. Spellbound – $51,886 ($5,463,482 total) {week 19}
59. Capturing the Friedmans – $35,164 ($3,005,798 total) {week 15}
79. The Weather Underground – $16,456 ($341,571 total) {week 14}
81. Nowhere in Africa – $15,782 ($6,092,989 total) {week 27}
87. City of God – $10,529 ($4,606,165 total) {week 34}
117. The Man Without a Past – $2,679 ($916,447 total) {week 23}
143. Bowling for Columbine – $480 ($21,575,207 total) {week 48}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl – $6,941,282 ($371,101,448 total)
8. Seabiscuit – $4,878,979 ($144,371,960 total)
18. Whale Rider – $1,177,560 ($23,871,522 total)
19. Dirty Pretty Things – $1,122,741 ($7,599,125 total)
20. Finding Nemo – $1,058,864 ($439,588,145 total)
21. Thirteen – $822,456 ($2,451,329 total)
22. American Splendor – $764,950 ($3,725,942 total)
31. Winged Migration – $331,264 ($12,516,130 total)
51. Spellbound – $68,321 ($7,194,038 total)
59. Capturing the Friedmans – $46,302 ($3,957,883 total)
79. The Weather Underground – $21,668 ($449,763 total)
81. Nowhere in Africa – $20,781 ($8,022,941 total)
87. City of God – $13,864 ($6,065,166 total)
117. The Man Without a Past – $3,528 ($1,206,731 total)
143. Bowling for Columbine – $632 ($28,409,145 total)

Oscar Details:

• American Splendor: Adapted Screenplay
• Bowling for Columbine: Documentary Feature [O]
• Capturing the Friedmans: Documentary Feature
• City of God: Director, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography
• Dirty Pretty Things: Original Screenplay
• Finding Nemo: Animated Feature [O], Original Screenplay, Original Score, Sound Editing
• The Man Without a Past: Foreign Language Film
• Nowhere in Africa: Foreign Language Film [O]
• Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl: Actor (Johnny Depp), Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects
• Seabiscuit: Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound Mixing
• Spellbound: Documentary Feature
• Thirteen: Supporting Actress (Holly Hunter)
• The Weather Underground: Documentary Feature
• Whale Rider: Actress (Keisha Castle-Hughes)
• Winged Migration: Documentary Feature

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Sept. 4-6, 1998

Weekend Box Office:

3. Saving Private Ryan – $6,790,469 ($165,036,969 total) {week 7}
11. Armageddon – $2,828,361 ($192,140,665 total) {week 10}
14. The Mask of Zorro – $2,106,833 ($87,940,321 total) {week 8}
22. Mulan – $1,058,103 ($117,725,653 total) {week 12}
999. Titanic – $70,467 ($600,541,628 total) {week 38}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

3. Saving Private Ryan – $11,496,018 ($279,401,606 total)
11. Armageddon – $4,788,313 ($325,287,181 total)
14. The Mask of Zorro – $3,566,792 ($148,879,776 total)
22. Mulan – $1,791,330 ($199,305,263 total)
999. Titanic – $119,298 ($1,016,695,208 total)

Oscar Details:

• Armageddon: Original Song (“I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing”), Sound, Sound Effects, Visual Effects
• The Mask of Zorro: Sound, Sound Effects
• Mulan: 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]
• Titanic: Picture [O], Director [O], Actress (Kate Winslet), Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart), Original Dramatic Score [O], Original Song (“My Heart Will Go On”) [O], Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup, Sound [O], Sound Editing [O], Visual Effects [O]

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Sept. 3-5, 1993

Weekend Box Office:

1. The Fugitive – $17,239,413 ($133,670,684 total) {week 5}
4. Jurassic Park – $3,195,075 ($315,700,185 total) {week 13}
8. In the Line of Fire – $2,601,730 ($97,272,400 total) {week 9}
11. Sleepless in Seattle – $2,875,506 ($112,910,299 total) {week 11}
12. The Firm – $2,362,240 ($150,032,582 total) {week 10}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

1. The Fugitive – $33,063,029 ($256,363,582 total)
4. Jurassic Park – $6,127,753 ($605,473,302 total)
8. In the Line of Fire – $4,989,791 ($186,556,245 total)
11. Sleepless in Seattle – $5,514,859 ($216,547,772 total)
12. The Firm – $4,530,480 ($287,743,648 total)

Oscar Details:

• The Firm: Supporting Actress (Holly Hunter), Original Score
• The Fugitive: Picture, Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones) [O], Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects
• In the Line of Fire: Supporting Actor (John Malkovich), Original Screenplay, Editing
• Jurassic Park: Sound [O], Sound Effects [O], Visual Effects [O]
• Sleepless in Seattle: Original Screenplay, Original Song (“A Wink and a Smile”)

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Sept. 2-4, 1988

Weekend Box Office:

4. Die Hard – $4,766,648 ($58,456,957 total) {week 8}
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit – $4,434,566 ($130,686,435 total) {week 11}
8. Married to the Mob – $3,405,665 ($12,086,524 total) {week 3}
9. Big – $2,487,652 ($97,856,795 total) {week 14}
10. Tucker The Man and His Dreams – $2,329,291 ($14,404,223 total) {week 4}
11. Coming to America – $2,305,075 ($117,382,908 total) {week 10}
16. The Last Temptation of Christ – $1,179,051 ($3,680,949 total) {week 4}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

4. Die Hard – $9,208,561 ($112,931,445 total)
5. Who Framed Roger Rabbit – $8,567,020 ($252,469,658 total)
8. Married to the Mob – $6,579,314 ($23,349,635 total)
9. Big – $4,805,829 ($189,046,947 total)
10. Tucker The Man and His Dreams – $4,499,896 ($27,827,136 total)
11. Coming to America – $4,453,113 ($226,768,927 total)
16. The Last Temptation of Christ – $2,277,777 ($7,111,128 total)

Oscar Details:

• Big: Actor (Tom Hanks), Original Screenplay
• Coming to America: Costume Design, Makeup
• Die Hard: Editing, Sound, Sound Effects, Visual Effects
• The Last Temptation of Christ: Director
• Married to the Mob: Supporting Actor (Dean Stockwell)
• Tucker The Man and His Dreams: Supporting Actor (Martin Landau), Art Direction, Costume Design
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit: Editing [O], Cinematography, Art Direction, Sound, Sound Effects [O], Visual Effects [O], Special Achievement Award (Animation Direction, Richard Williams)

30 Years Ago: The Weekend of Sept. 9-11, 1983

Weekend Box Office:

6. Return of the Jedi – $1,621,851 ($234,515,987 total) {week 16}
7. Flashdance – $1,425,850 ($83,396,837 total) {week 22}
8. Trading Places – $1,279,288 ($82,263,931 total) {week 14}
10. WarGames – $964,876 ($69,527,019 total) {week 15}

Weekend Box Office (Adjusted for Inflation):

6. Return of the Jedi – $4,088,094 ($591,129,186 total)
7. Flashdance – $3,594,047 ($210,212,980 total)
8. Trading Places – $3,224,618 ($207,357,337 total)
10. WarGames – $2,432,100 ($175,252,232 total)

Oscar Details:

• Flashdance: Original Song (“Flashdance…What a Feeling”) [O], Original Song (“Maniac”), Editing, Cinematography
• Return of the Jedi: Original Score, Art Direction, Sound, Sound Effects, Visual Effects [O]
• Trading Places: Original Song Score
• WarGames: Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Sound