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The Short Oscar Season Was Tough for Hollywood, but Good for Box Office

by Jeremy Fuster | February 10, 2020 @ 6:00 PM

Best Picture favorites “1917” and “Parasite” were able to take advantage of the faster countdown to Oscar Sunday

With the historic victory of “Parasite” at the Oscars on Sunday, the book has been closed on the most compressed awards season ever. But while it is unlikely that the Academy will have the Oscars this early again, several films took advantage of the shortened run to Hollywood’s biggest night and, as a result, find box office success.

Fears about moving up the 2020 Oscars to the week after the Super Bowl were allayed when several films altered the calendar to their advantage thanks to a mix of smart marketing and release strategy, combined with buzzy word-of-mouth.

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The prime example was Universal’s war film “1917.” While the studio failed to capture a second straight Best Picture victory, the studio gave the Sam Mendes film a flawless release strategy. As a result, it will cross $300 million at the global box office in the coming week. The World War I-set “1917” grossed $92 million in North America between nomination day and now, higher than the $84 million that 2017 contender “Hidden Figures” made in its Oscar season period, which was a week longer. “1917” is also on pace to approach that film’s $169 million domestic total despite its R rating.

For Best Picture nominees that are released in December or have a wide release in January, the period between nomination announcements and Oscar Sunday is a critical one for their box office goals, as they hope to bring in moviegoers that gain interest from their newfound awards status. Smaller art-house films also try to take advantage of this important time, as distributors return them to hundreds of theaters even if they were released in October rather than the holidays.

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The shorter season also didn’t stop the art-house contenders from getting a good box office bump. “Parasite” has helped put its growing American distributor, Neon, on the map with a domestic total of $35.5 million, a new record for the 3-year-old company and among the best ever for a non-English film in America. Just over $10 million of that total came since the film’s nomination, after which Neon expanded the film to just over 1,000 screens. By comparison, 2017 Best Picture winner “Moonlight,” which like “Parasite” was released in mid-October, grossed $6.3 million between its nomination and victory.

“It’s always going to be difficult to make direct comparisons to different Oscar films in different years because the subject matter and box office competition are always different,” Comscore media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. “But the changes in the Oscar calendar didn’t have any negative impact on the nominees still in theaters, and ‘1917’ was probably best able to take advantage of being expanded right as it was winning all these awards.”

Also Read: Can Inclusion Boost Box Office? Films With Diverse Leads Have More Success Domestically, New Study Shows

As TheWrap’s Steve Pond noted, this new calendar was very unpopular with nominees and their handlers, who had to deal with a much more hectic travel schedule because of the truncated awards season. Some of the awards shows, such as the Writers Guild Awards, also had few nominees turn up because they had to compete directly against other awards like the BAFTAs booked on the same weekend.

For those reasons, it’s likely that the Oscars will return to the old schedule for the foreseeable future: nominations in mid-to-late January for a late February show. Obviously, we won’t know until around the end of 2020 exactly how many nominees will have serious theatrical viability when nominations are announced. But those potential contenders will be competing a much stiffer February slate than this year, specifically in the form of the Marvel Studios film “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” set for release on Feb. 12, 2021.

32 Great Movies That Received Zero Oscar Nominations (Photos)

While we could go all day naming movies that have been unfairly overlooked by The Academy for one reason or another, these near classics feel like they should've been awards season shoo-ins and yet ultimately received no Oscar love at all.
"King Kong" (1933)

It was the quintessential monster movie of the era and was a landmark for special effects, but the Academy handed it zero nominations.
RKO
"Modern Times" (1936)

Many of Charlie Chaplin's silent masterpieces predate the Oscars, but the Academy didn't take the chance to nominate his final turn as The Tramp. Chaplin himself wouldn't be properly recognized by The Academy with an Oscar win until "Limelight" was finally released in 1972.
United Artists
"Bringing Up Baby" (1938)

Katherine Hepburn had already won an Oscar by the time she starred in this screwball comedy classic alongside Cary Grant. What gives?
RKO
"His Girl Friday" (1940)

Seriously, what did the Academy have against Howard Hawks? "His Girl Friday" is another screwball comedy great with Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, but it was completely snubbed. Even the play and movie on which its based, "The Front Page," got three Oscar nominations.
Columbia Pictures
"The Searchers" (1956)

It's not like the Oscars had never heard of John Ford or John Wayne when this masterpiece came out.
Warner Bros.
"Paths of Glory" (1957)

RIP Kirk Douglas. Stanley Kubrick plus War movie should've spelled Oscar gold, but it got no noms.
United Artists
"Touch of Evil" (1958)

Orson Welles' noir begins with a masterful long take and has some stunning black and white cinematography, but after "Citizen Kane," Welles never got another Oscar nomination until he won an honorary award in 1971.
Universal Pictures
"Breathless" (1960)

Jean-Luc Godard's groundbreaking film that kicked off the French New Wave and helped shape modern cinema did get attention from the Berlin Film Festival and even the BAFTAs, but not AMPAS. Godard has also never been nominated for an Oscar, but he received an honorary Oscar in 2011.
The Criterion Collection
"Harold and Maude" (1972)

The Oscars would come to love Hal Ashby movies, but his second feature, "Harold and Maude," had to settle for just two Golden Globe nominations for stars Ruth Gordon and Bud Cort.
Paramount Pictures
"Mean Streets" (1973)

It took way too long for the Academy to finally recognize Martin Scorsese, but they completely overlooked his first critical masterpiece.
Warner Bros.
"The Shining" (1980)

All work and no Oscar nominations makes Jack a dull boy.
Warner Bros.
"This is Spinal Tap" (1984)

"This is Spinal Tap" defined a genre of mockumentary filmmaking and captured and held a mirror up to heavy metal music in the '80s, but England's loudest rock band was over the heads of the Academy.
MGM
"Once Upon a Time in America" (1984)

Sergio Leone's mob epic was a sensation at Cannes, but its Oscar hopes were doomed when its nearly four-hour running time got butchered for a theatrical release.
Warner Bros.
"Reservoir Dogs" (1992)

Quentin Tarantino didn't get any nominations for his debut "Reservoir Dogs," but he'd burst onto the scene in a major way when his "Pulp Fiction" went head-to-head with "Forrest Gump."
Miramax
"Groundhog Day" (1993)

A beloved romantic comedy and Bill Murray performance didn't get the credit it deserves? Somehow it feels like we've lived this day before.
Columbia Pictures Corporation
"Heat" (1995)

Michael Mann's riveting heist saga boasts Al Pacino, Robert De Niro and Val Kilmer and even a prime spot on the IMDB Top 250, but no Oscar noms.
Warner Bros.
"Rushmore" (1998)

Wes Anderson's breakthrough movie netted a Golden Globe nomination for Bill Murray and two Independent Spirit Awards, and that's it.
Touchstone Pictures
"The Big Lebowski" (1998)

The Oscars may not have abided by Jeff Bridges and The Dude in this Coen Brothers classic, but that's like, your opinion, man.
Gramercy Pictures
"American Psycho" (2000)

Before Christian Bale became a perennial Oscar contender, he starred in Mary Harron's cult favorite that critics were mixed on and the Academy ignored almost entirely; though it did win a special recognition from the National Board of Review.
Lionsgate Films
"Zodiac" (2007)

Was David Fincher's "Zodiac" just too dense for Academy voters? Or pushing three hours, was it just a little too long?
Paramount Pictures
"Melancholia" (2011)

Maybe the themes of Lars von Trier's gem were too similar (or too bleak) compared to another surprise Best Picture nominee from that year, "The Tree of Life."
Zentropa Entertainment
"Frances Ha" (2012)

Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig and Adam Driver are all nominated for Oscars this year, but the movie that put them all together and had stellar black and white cinematography was somehow overlooked.
IFC Films
"Fruitvale Station" (2013)

The Academy would eventually come around on Ryan Coogler and Michael B. Jordan, but it missed its chance recognizing their breakthrough work with the true story of police brutality in "Fruitvale Station," even though Sundance, Cannes, the Gothams, Indie Spirits and critics groups all showered it with praise.
The Weinstein Company
"Rush" (2013)

Ron Howard, true story, thrilling racing, huge star power, zero Oscar nominations.
Universal
"Dear White People" (2014)

Justin Simien's debut film "Dear White People" was an explosive conversation piece with an acclaimed screenplay that got snubbed in the height of the #OscarsSoWhite era.
Lionsgate
"Wonder Woman" (2017)

A Best Picture nomination for a superhero movie would've been its own achievement, but a female led and directed one would've been a giant statement. And the Academy failed to nominate it in even the technical categories as well.
Warner Bros.
"The Rider" (2017)

Chloé Zhao's lush and poetic drama "The Rider" felt like a dark horse contender for at the very least a screenplay nomination after it won top honors from the Gotham Awards for Best Film, but it got bucked from the rodeo.
Sony Pictures Classics
"Paddington 2" (2018)

Many critics held up the whimsical "Paddington 2" as one of the best movies of the year, kids movie or otherwise. Others even looked to Hugh Grant as deserving of a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his gonzo villain turn.
Warner Bros.
"Hereditary" (2018)

Horror movies are always a tough sell with the Academy, as are movies that premiered at Sundance, but A24 pushed hard to get Toni Collette a nomination. Ari Aster's follow-up film "Midsommar" was completely shut out as well.
A24
"Mission: Impossible - Fallout" (2018)

Tom Cruise made the best case yet for why the Academy should institute a category for Best Stunts when his jaw dropping, death-defying work was overlooked entirely.
Paramount Pictures
"The Farewell" (2019)

After premiering at Sundance, Awkwafina managed to stay top of mind in the Oscar race through all of 2019, and she would even win a Golden Globe for her performance. But in a year that lacked for diversity among the acting nominees, "The Farewell" missed out on a screenplay nomination as well.
A24
"Uncut Gems" (2019)

Some critics speculated that the Safdie Brothers film might have a sleeper chance at a Best Picture nomination this year and that Adam Sandler should be a Best Actor contender in a crowded field. But because he and the movie were shut out, Sandler made good on a threat to continue making even more Netflix movies that both critics and the Academy will hate.
A24

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Epics like “King Kong” to cult classics like “The Shining” and “The Big Lebowski” were all snubbed by the Academy

While we could go all day naming movies that have been unfairly overlooked by The Academy for one reason or another, these near classics feel like they should've been awards season shoo-ins and yet ultimately received no Oscar love at all.

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