Of the five nominees for best picture (Babel, The Departed, Letters from Iwo Jima, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Queen), three of them ("The Departed," "Little Miss Sunshine," and "The Queen") played at the Eagle. Of the five, none were blockbusters, though "The Departed" did $120.9 million, which is very good (all U.S. box office numbers through Jan. 7).
"Little Miss Sunshine," which is one of the funniest movies I have ever seen, was part of our Crawford County Arts film series. Nationally, the movie did $59.5 million on an $8 million production budget. Wow.
"The Queen," which is wrapping up a one-week run at the Eagle, has done $29.9 million inn box office, and "Babel" is at $20.7 million. "Letters from Iwo Jima, which was just released over the holidays, has done about $.5 million, which means that less than 100,000 people have seen the film.
It would be easy to make some pointed, yet trite comments about either the taste of the American public (the elitist position) or how out-of-touch Hollywood is with mainstream values (the populist postion). I prefer to just accept it for what it is--commercial success is not the same as critical acclaim.
Why would we imagine that it is? For a movie to be commercially successful, it has to appeal across a lot of demographics, and the abililty to do that often weakens a film's voice. A strong voice is the main element of critical acclaim. It doesn't mean that commercially successful films aren't good/entertaining/fun, it just means that they are, by their nature, different. "The Departed," which was the most successful at the box office, was rated R, and therefore largely inaccessible to that significant portion of the audience that is under 17.
As a theater owner, we have a business bias towards commercially successful. As a film watcher, I enjoy movies like "Little Miss Sunshine," and I admit that I wished our market area was larger so that we would have enough people to watch more critically acclaimed movies.
Here's the complete list of Oscar nominees:
Performance by an actor in a leading role
Leonardo DiCaprio - BLOOD DIAMOND
Ryan Gosling - HALF NELSON
Peter O'Toole - VENUS
Will Smith - THE PURSUIT OF HAPPYNESS
Forest Whitaker - THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Performance by an actor in a supporting role
Alan Arkin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jackie Earle Haley - LITTLE CHILDREN
Djimon Hounsou - BLOOD DIAMOND
Eddie Murphy - DREAMGIRLS
Mark Wahlberg - THE DEPARTED
Performance by an actress in a leading role
Penélope Cruz - VOLVER
Judi Dench - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren - THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep - THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet - LITTLE CHILDREN
Performance by an actress in a supporting role
Adriana Barraza - BABEL
Cate Blanchett - NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Abigail Breslin - LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Jennifer Hudson - DREAMGIRLS
Rinko Kikuchi - BABEL
Best animated feature film of the year
CARS
HAPPY FEET
MONSTER HOUSE
Achievement in art direction
DREAMGIRLS
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
PAN'S LABYRINTH
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
THE PRESTIGE
Achievement in cinematography
THE BLACK DAHLIA
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE ILLUSIONIST
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE PRESTIGE
Achievement in costume design
CURSE OF THE GOLDEN FLOWER
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
DREAMGIRLS
MARIE ANTOINETTE
THE QUEEN
Achievement in directing
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93
Best documentary feature
DELIVER US FROM EVIL
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS
JESUS CAMP
MY COUNTRY, MY COUNTRY
Best documentary short subject
THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT
RECYCLED LIFE
REHEARSING A DREAM
TWO HANDS
Achievement in film editing
BABEL
BLOOD DIAMOND
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
UNITED 93
Best foreign language film of the year
AFTER THE WEDDING
DAYS OF GLORY (INDIGÈNES)
THE LIVES OF OTHERS
PAN'S LABYRINTH
WATER
Achievement in makeup
APOCALYPTO
CLICK
PAN'S LABYRINTH
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score)
BABEL
THE GOOD GERMAN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
PAN'S LABYRINTH
THE QUEEN
Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song)
"I Need to Wake Up" - AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH
"Listen" - DREAMGIRLS
"Love You I Do" - DREAMGIRLS
"Our Town" - CARS
"Patience" - DREAMGIRLS
Best motion picture of the year
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN
Best animated short film
THE DANISH POET
LIFTED
THE LITTLE MATCHGIRL
MAESTRO
NO TIME FOR NUTS
Best live action short film
BINTA AND THE GREAT IDEA (BINTA Y LA GRAN IDEA)
ÉRAMOS POCOS (ONE TOO MANY)
HELMER & SON
THE SAVIOUR
WEST BANK STORY
Achievement in sound editing
APOCALYPTO
BLOOD DIAMOND
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Achievement in sound mixing
APOCALYPTO
BLOOD DIAMOND
DREAMGIRLS
FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
Achievement in visual effects
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST
POSEIDON
SUPERMAN RETURNS
Adapted screenplay
BORAT CULTURAL LEARNINGS OF AMERICA
FOR MAKE BENEFIT GLORIOUS NATION OF KAZAKHSTAN
CHILDREN OF MEN
THE DEPARTED
LITTLE CHILDREN
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
