Academy Award Nominated Films Make Big Bucks

Once again, there is no big surprise this week at the North America box office. Robert DeNiro and Dakota Fanning's latest film, Hide and Seek, took the #1 spot with $22 million. DeNiro is on a bit of a roll as of late, especially with the incredible success of Meet the Fockers, which has grossed over $250 million in the U.S. alone.

However, the most interesting movie news this week involves films nominated for Academy Awards. Being nominated for an Academy Award (especially for Best Picture) is like a touch by King Midas- small films that otherwise wouldn't have enjoyed such success are suddenly the hot film to see. The films nominated for Best Picture- The Aviator, Ray, Sideways, Finding Neverland, and Million Dollar Baby have mostly all seen a jump at the box office as of late. Ray and Finding Neverland were released a few months ago, so their increase is minimal. However, The Aviator, Sideways, and Million Dollar Baby are all doing very well.

For example, look at the movie, Sideways. This is a very small production- a very small movie all around. It has been in theatres for 15 weeks, and this past weekend (the first weekend since Academy Award nominations were announced), it hit the top 10 for the first time, making $6.3 million. A non-blockbuster of this sort would almost never make any money in any other situation- but now that it is up for Best Picture, everyone suddenly wants to go see it.

The Academy Award nomination is cinematic gold for a motion picture. A nomination for a movie means many millions of dollars more than it otherwise would make. For an actor or actress, a nomination (and especially a win) instantly makes that person more appealing to Hollywood, and he or she will make a guaranteed higher salary for their next film.