The 2022 oscars and the box office | thearticle

In an excellent piece in the _Spectator_ Alexander Larman asks the key question: “The Oscar noms [sic] are out but does anyone care?” The key point he raises is that a huge gap is opening up

between the films that get nominated for Oscars and BAFTAs and the films people actually go to see. “Pictures such as the new _ Spider-Man _ are still making enormous amounts of money at

the box office, but are not being recognised at increasingly refined awards ceremonies ( _ Spider-Man _ has scored only one nomination, for Best Visual Effects).” The figures back up

Larman’s argument. Only one film nominated for Best Picture in the Oscars made the Top 30 at the US Box Office and that was _ Dune _ at Number 13 with a gross of $93 million. The next was

_West Side Story _at Number 38 with a mere $28 million. That is a long, long way behind the biggest US box office hits _Spider-Man: No Way Home _($573 million), Shang-Chi and the Legend of

the Ten Rings _ _ ($224 million), _Venom: Let There Be Carnage _($212 million) and _Black Widow _($183 million). There’s something else worth noting here. Disney has produced six out of the

sixteen top grossing films. And then look at the studios which have produced the films which have dominated the nominations for the 2022 Academy Awards: Netflix (27 including films like Jane

Campion’s _The Power of the Dog_, _Don’t Look Up_, _The Lost Daughter, Tick, Tick… _ _ BOOM! _ ), Amazon Studios ( _ Being the Ricardos _ , the Lucille Ball biopic with Nicole Kidman),

Apple Original Films (_CODA_, _The Tragedy of Macbeth_) and, of course, Disney (24 nominations including _ West Side Story _ , _ Encanto _ and _ Cruella _ ). Between them, these four

companies hoovered up more than sixty nominations. What do these figures tell us? First, as Larman rightly points out, there is a huge gap between what the award ceremonies praise and what

Middle America, especially the under-30s, pay to see in the malls. Second, a small handful of new companies are doing really well at the Oscars and are signing up a lot of creative talent,

from Spielberg and Lin-Manuel Miranda to Benedict Cumberbatch, Olivia Colman and Denzel Washington), just as Ricky Gervais predicted at the Golden Globes some years ago (his new series, _

After Life _ , is, of course, a Netflix production). There’s another interesting story buried in these nominations. 2021 was a big year at the Oscars for finally starting to recognise Black

acting talent, partly in reaction to the all-White nominations in all acting categories in the 2020 Oscars. Chadwick Boseman was nominated for Best Actor for his performance in _ Ma Rainey _

_ ’ _ _ s Black Bottom _ , Daniel Kaluuya won Best Actor in a Supporting Role for _ Judas and the Black Messiah _ , Lakeith Stanfield was nominated for his performance in the same film,

Leslie Odom, Jr. was nominated in the same category for _One Night in Miami…_, Viola Davis ( _ Ma Rainey _ _ ’ _ _ s Black Bottom _ ) and Andra Day (_The United States vs. Billie Holiday)

_were both nominated for Best __Actress in a Leading Role. This year, the numbers are down: Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Ariana DeBose and Aunjanue Ellis. There is a twist. None of these

films did well at the US box office (though _Bad Boys For Life _topped box office earnings with two Black lead actors). Largely White suburban film audiences in America seem to be less

politically correct than the Academy and paid to see _1917_, _Sonic the Hedgehog_ and _Jumanji: The Next Level _instead. One final question. What is the point of televising the Oscars, the

Golden Globes and the BAFTAs if they’re not about films people actually want to see in the cinema? Perhaps these three or four-hour TV behemoths have not got much longer to go on network TV.

Soon they will seem completely irrelevant. Perhaps then they will move to Netflix and Disney. The British newspapers, TV and radio critics are already getting very excited about this year’s

nominations, focusing on the usual big names, but as usual the bigger stories — about box office, the rise of new distribution companies, and race — will pass them by. A MESSAGE FROM

THEARTICLE _We are the only publication that’s committed to covering every angle. We have an important contribution to make, one that’s needed now more than ever, and we need your help to

continue publishing throughout the pandemic. So please, make a donation._