A recent article claimed that the movies that win are no longer popular with audiences. It was mentioned that Rogue One earned more than $500 million at the box office and was essentially unnoticed whereas Moonlight, which earned $20 million was up for multiple awards. It was an interesting point so I did some research.
Since 2010, the average Best Picture winner is the 59th highest grossing movie of the year. The King's Speech was the 18th highest grossing film in 2010, topping the group. Moonlight was the 101st highest grossing film in 2016.
From 2000 to 2009, the average Best Picture winner was the 28th highest grossing movie. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King was the number one earner in 2003 while The Hurt Locker was #116 on the other extreme.
From 1990 to 1999, the Best Picture winner was the 10th highest grossing movie. Forrest Gump (1994) and Titanic (1997) were both the top grossing movies of their year. The English Patient was the weakest of the bunch at 19th in 1996. Note that 18th was the highest rated movie in the current decade whereas 19 was the lowest in the 90s. Hmm.
From 1980 to 1989, the winner averaged 9th highest gross. Rain Main was #1 in 1988. The Last Emperor was the lowest of the bunch at 25th in 1987.
From 1970 to 1979, the winner averaged 4th! Kramer vs. Kramer, Rocky, The Sting, and The Godfather were all the top earners for the year they won. Annie Hall was the weakest of the bunch at 10th.
Given that, is it any wonder that the ratings for the Academy Awards are down? This graph is revealing:
The change is accelerating. By 2030, no one outside the academy will have seen the Best Picture of the Year.
No comments:
Post a Comment