Every week, we’ll take a look back 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 (starting in January) 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

The Adventures of Tintin (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Animated Feature, Original Score, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Picture, Director, Actress (Rooney Mara), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing.

Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects.

War Horse (Wide)

Oscar Potential: Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing, Visual Effects.

Albert Nobbs (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Actress (Glenn Close), Supporting Actress (Janet McTeer), Original Song (“Lay Your Head Down”), Art Direction, Costume Design.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Max von Sydow), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing, Cinematography, Sound Mixing.

Pina (Limited)

Oscar Potential: Documentary Feature.

5 Years Ago: The Weekend of Dec. 22-24, 2006

Weekend Box Office:

2. The Pursuit of Happyness – $14,817,371 ($53,104,266 total) {week 2}
4. The Good Shepherd – $9,912,110 ($9,912,110 total) {week 1}
8. Happy Feet – $5,163,474 ($159,119,637 total) {week 6}
12. Blood Diamond – $3,126,379 ($25,129,129 total) {week 3}
13. Apocalypto – $2,868,725 ($34,592,881 total) {week 3}
17. Borat – $619,066 ($34,104,717 total) {week 8}
19. The Curse of the Golden Flower – $478,771 ($492,915 total) {week 1}
20. Volver – $453,880 ($3,478,836 total) {week 8}
21. The Queen – $428,280 ($26,465,979 total) {week 13}
23. Babel – $312,218 ($18,874,554 total) {week 9}
26. Dreamgirls – $227,639 ($851,664 total) {week 2}
27. The Departed – $219,428 ($119,700,906 total) {week 12}
28. The Good German – $95,539 ($214,117 total) {week 2}
29. The Prestige – $91,110 ($52,158,629 total) {week 10}
30. Letters from Iwo Jima – $89,097 ($128,842 total) {week 1}
38. Venus – $35,604 ($41,367 total) {week 1}
39. Little Miss Sunshine – $34,962 ($59,393,704 total) {week 22}
48. The Last King of Scotland – $16,567 ($3,570,170 total) {week 13}
50. The Illusionist – $15,491 ($39,718,561 total) {week 19}
57. Jesus Camp – $5,114 ($865,368 total) {week 15}

Oscar Details:

• Apocalypto: Makeup, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Babel: Picture, Supporting Actress (Adriana Barraza, Rinko Kikuchi), Directing, Original Screenplay, Original Score [O], Editing
• Blood Diamond: Actor (Leonardo DiCaprio), Supporting Actor (Djimon Hounsou), Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing
• Borat: Adapted Screenplay
• The Curse of the Golden Flower: Costume Design
• The Departed: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Mark Wahlberg), Adapted Screenplay [O], Editing
• Dreamgirls: Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) [O], Original Song (“Listen”, “Love You I Do”, “Patience”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Sound [O]
• The Good German: Original Score
• The Good Shepherd: Art Direction
• Happy Feet: Animated Feature [O]
• The Illusionist: Cinematography
• Jesus Camp: Documentary Feature
• The Last King of Scotland: Actor (Forest Whitaker [O])
• Letters from Iwo Jima: Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Sound Editing [O]
• Little Miss Sunshine: Picture, Supporting Actor (Alan Arkin [O]), Supporting Actress (Abigail Breslin), Original Screenplay [O]
• The Prestige: Cinematography, Art Direction
• The Pursuit of Happyness: Actor (Will Smith)
• The Queen: Picture, Directing, Actress (Helen Mirren [O]), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Costume Design
• Venus: Actor (Peter O’Toole)
• Volver: Actress (Penelope Cruz)

10 Years Ago: The Weekend of Dec. 21-23, 2001

Weekend Box Office:

1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring – $47,211,490 ($751,529,468 total) {week 1}
3. Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius – $13,832,786 ($13,832,786 total) {week 1}
6. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone – $7,092,906 ($264,095,956 total) {week 6}
9. Monsters, Inc. – $3,801,516 ($224,450,540 total) {week 8}
14. Amelie – $770,897 ($13,709,091 total) {week 8}
16. A Beautiful Mind – $367,151 ($367,151 total) {week 1}
20. The Man Who Wasn’t There – $167,989 ($6,612,989 total) {week 8}
27. In the Bedroom – $83,227 ($610,838 total) {week 5}
30. Training Day – $71,321 ($76,261,036 total) {week 12}
34. Mulholland Drive – $64,485 ($5,475,358 total) {week 11}
39. No Man’s Land – $43,301 ($106,961 total) {week 3}
57. Moulin Rouge! – $9,627 ($57,008,064 total) {week 32}

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
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone: Original Score, Art Direction, Costume Design
• In the Bedroom: Picture, Actor (Tom Wilkinson), Actress (Sissy Spacek), Supporting Actress (Marisa Tomei), Adapted Screenplay
• Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius: Animated Feature
• The Man Who Wasn’t There: Cinematography
• Monsters, Inc.: Animated Feature, Original Song (If I Didn’t Have You [O]), Original Score, Sound Editing
• Moulin Rouge!: Picture, Actress (Nicole Kidman), Editing, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O], Makeup, Sound
• Mulholland Drive: Director (David Lynch)
• No Man’s Land: Foreign Language Film
• 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]
• Training Day: Actor (Denzel Washington [O]), Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke)

15 Years Ago: The Weekend of Dec. 20-22, 1996

Weekend Box Office:

2. Jerry Maguire – $13,125,660 ($36,287,093 total) {week 2}
5. One Fine Day – $6,226,430 ($6,226,430 total) {week 1}
11. Star Trek: First Contact – $2,306,509 ($80,389,431 total) {week 5}
13. The English Patient – $1,670,429 ($18,433,824 total) {week 6}
15. The Crucible – $641,569 ($962,496 total) {week 4}
999. Ghosts of Mississippi – $168,012 ($168,012 total) {week 1}
999. Marvin’s Room – $57,739 ($73,279 total) {week 1}
999. Independence Day – $5,244 ($306,143,214 total) {week 25}

Oscar Details:

• The Crucible: Supporting Actress (Joan Allen), Adapted Screenplay
• 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]
• Ghosts of Mississippi: Supporting Actor (James Woods), Makeup
• Independence Day: Sound, Visual Effects [O]
• Jerry Maguire: Picture, Actor (Tom Cruise), Supporting Actor (Cuba Gooding Jr.) [O], Original Screenplay, Film Editing
• Marvin’s Room: Actress (Diane Keaton)
• One Fine Day: Original Song (“For the First Time”)
• Star Trek: First Contact: Makeup

20 Years Ago: The Weekend of Dec. 20-22, 1991

Weekend Box Office:

1. Hook – $9,638,615 ($30,729,815 total) {week 2}
4. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country – $5,452,793 ($38,312,961 total) {week 3}
5. JFK – $5,223,658 ($5,223,658 total) {week 1}
6. Beauty and the Beast – $4,863,315 ($46,047,138 total) {week 6}
7. Bugsy – $4,611,477 ($4,878,099 total) {week 2}
8. The Addams Family – $3,457,353 ($78,395,925 total) {week 5}
10. Cape Fear – $2,116,700 ($53,642,272 total) {week 6}
11. For the Boys – $695,924 ($13,264,432 total) {week 5}

Oscar Details:

• The Addams Family: Costume Design
• Beauty and the Beast: Picture, Original Score [O], Original Song (“Be Our Guest”, “Beauty and the Beast” [O], “Belle”), Sound
• Bugsy: Picture, Director, Actor (Warren Beatty), Supporting Actor (Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley), Original Screenplay, Original Score, Cinematography, Art Direction [O], Costume Design [O]
• Cape Fear: Actor (Robert De Niro), Supporting Actress (Juliette Lewis)
• For the Boys: Actress (Bette Midler)
• Hook: Original Song (“When You’re Alone”), Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Visual Effects
• JFK: Picture, Director, Supporting Actor (Tommy Lee Jones), Adapted Screenplay, Original Score, Editing [O], Cinematography [O], Sound
• Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: Original Score, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects Editing

25 Years Ago: The Weekend of Dec. 19-21, 1986

Weekend Box Office:

2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – $5,809,960 ($54,371,407 total) {week 4}
5. Heartbreak Ridge – $3,493,085 ($20,920,521 total) {week 3}
7. Crocodile Dundee – $2,282,721 ($106,024,183 total) {week 13}
9. An American Tail – $1,932,665 ($26,292,623 total) {week 5}
13. The Color of Money – $404,195 ($43,327,567 total) {week 10}
999. Platoon – $241,080 ($241,080 total) {week 1}

Oscar Details:

• An American Tail: Original Song (“Somewhere Out There”)
• The Color of Money: Actor (Paul Newman [O]), Supporting Actress (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction
• Crocodile Dundee: Original Screenplay
• Heartbreak Ridge: Sound
• Platoon: Picture [O], Director [O], Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe), Original Screenplay, Editing [O], Cinematography, Sound [O]
• Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: Original Score, Cinematography, Sound, Sound Effects Editing