How Much Is the Best Picture Oscar Really Worth to ‘Spotlight’?
In the two weeks since it took home the Academy Awards’ top prize, the journalism drama has boosted its theatrical box office — even though it can be watched at home
After winning the Best Picture award for “Spotlight” two weeks ago, domestic distributor Open Road Films and foreign distributor eOne have earned far more than mere bragging rights.
“Spotlight” has taken in roughly $4.8 million — almost 11 percent of its $43 million total domestic box office haul — since its triumph on Feb. 28. And overseas, where eOne shepherded post-Oscar expansions in more than 30 foreign markets, the film added another $3.7 million this weekend, lifting its foreign grosses to $38.2 million.
That means that the R-rated drama about the Boston Globe’s uncovering of the Catholic Church sex abuse scandal has grossed more than 17 percent of its $81 million worldwide box office haul since it won Best Picture. That’s especially impressive since the fact-based film directed by Tom McCarthy — who also nabbed the Best Original Screenplay Oscar with co-writer Josh Singer — has been available on VOD and on DVD since Feb. 23.
Showing confidence in the movie’s ability to pull off a mild Oscar upset over “The Revenant,” Open Road expanded “Spotlight” by 284 theaters to 685 on the weekend of the Academy Awards. The following weekend, it went on a full-fledged victory lap, adding 584 theaters, to land the drama in 1,227 locations, its widest run. This weekend, the distributor cut back the count by 380 theaters on Friday, and “Spotlight” is estimated to have taken in around $945,000.
Given the film’s $20 million production budget, that all adds up to a tidy return on investment for producers Steve Golin and Michael Sugar of Anonymous Content, and the film’s early backers, Nicole Rocklin and Blye Faust.
The film is, nonetheless, currently the sixth-lowest-grossing Best Picture winner ever. Its total is around the inflation-adjusted $47 million of 2011’s “The Artist,” which took in a whopping 29 percent of its $43 million domestic grosses after its big Oscar win.
The fine-tuning of the theater count under CEO Tom Ortenberg and distribution chief Elliot Slutzky, in conjunction with the campaign developed by chief marketing officer Jason Cassidy, attest to the effort that Open Road made to maximize the returns on the saga.
No doubt, the Oscar win has helped bring in as much money as possible.
Although the film enjoys a sterling 96 percent “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes and features a cast of respected actors including Michael Keaton, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, John Slattery and Stanley Tucci, none of the stars are marquee heavyweights. And despite its pedigree, cast and accolades, “Spotlight” is still an R-rated, talky drama about a sex abuse scandal.
“Clearly, nearly every ounce of theatrical box office has been effectively extracted by the studio and eOne on behalf of the movie,” said comScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “The transition from the big screen to the the small screen was perfectly timed to take advantage of the heightened profile of the film via the Oscar wins.
“There is still revenue out there to be had via on demand/home video for ‘Spotlight,’ but you can’t say that any money was left on the table for this Oscar winner.
10 Journalism Movies To Share the 'Spotlight' With
"All The President's Men" is the film that many critics have compared "Spotlight" to, and there's little wonder why. "Spotlight" follows the path blazed by the Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman classic recounting the Watergate scandal, showing the investigative reporting process in great detail and exposing the roadblocks that reporters face when trying to uncover the truth.
It's a shame the "Star Wars" prequels made many moviegoers cringe at the thought of Hayden Christensen, because his performance in "Shattered Glass" is a must-see. Christensen plays Stephen Glass, a reporter from The New Republic who was fired in 1998 for fabricating many of his stories.
Forty years after its release, "Network" remains one of the most potent satires not just in cinema, but in any medium. Paddy Chayefsky's Oscar-winning script bitterly attacks broadcast media for sacrificing the public good for salacious stories that will get ratings. Today, as the media chases after Donald Trump for more and more scandalous quotes, "Network" has proven to be prophetic. Again.
In a similar vein as "Network," but a generation earlier, there's Billy Wilder's "Ace In the Hole," which stars Kirk Douglas as an opportunistic, down-on-his-luck reporter who discovers a man trapped in a collapsed cave in New Mexico and uses it as an opportunity to regain his former big-city glory. Even back in 1951, sensationalism in the press was being examined in film.
Back on the more idealistic side of journalism movies, there's George Clooney's "Good Night And Good Luck," which features David Strathairn as Edward R. Murrow as he takes on Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. The concluding speech cautions about the potential and dangers of television that "Network" looks at more cynically.
From Australia, "Balibo" retells the true story of Roger East, a reporter who traveled to East Timor to investigate the disappearance of five other journalists just before the invasion of Indonesia in 1975. The film features "Ex Machina" star Oscar Isaac as Nobel Peace Prize winner Jose Ramos-Horta before his rise to the East Timor presidency.
The wittiest take on arts journalism is Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous," a dramedy about an aspiring music journalist covering a rising band for Rolling Stone. The film is based on Crowe's own experiences at Rolling Stone, and features Philip Seymour Hoffman as legendary rock writer Lester Bangs in one of the most famous "job warning" speeches ever.
The words of Hunter S. Thompson, patron saint of gonzo journalism, are captured brilliantly by Johnny Depp in "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas." Thompson's writing crackles with life, and Depp's narration sets it ablaze. Listen to his reading of the famous "Wave Speech," which brings forth Thompson's ability to find beauty even in the ugly side of America that he always reveled in.
"Broadcast News," James L.Brooks' rom-com drama, has been praised for its insightful look at the day-to-day life inside a broadcast newsroom. Featuring a love triangle between an unseasoned anchorman (William Hurt), a high-strung producer (Holly Hunter) and an ambitious reporter (Albert Brooks), this is a much lighter alternative to "The Newsroom."
"Citizen Kane." Come on, does this need further introduction? Orson Welles' masterpiece is one of the heavyweight contenders in the Greatest Movie Ever debate, and a sobering look at the slow death of journalistic idealism at the hands of power and greed. Some 75 years later, that loss of faith in journalistic ideals seems to be more widespread in society. Maybe that's why "Spotlight" won Best Picture: it reminds us that truth-seekers aren't as extinct today as we sometimes may think.
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From odes to investigative reporting to biting satires of mass media, journalism and the movies have a long history together
"All The President's Men" is the film that many critics have compared "Spotlight" to, and there's little wonder why. "Spotlight" follows the path blazed by the Robert Redford/Dustin Hoffman classic recounting the Watergate scandal, showing the investigative reporting process in great detail and exposing the roadblocks that reporters face when trying to uncover the truth.
