This Week on The Boxoffice Podcast: Breaking Down the 2023 Best Picture Oscar Race

With $2.05B in the bank globally so far, Avatar: The Way of Water is the strongest earner of this year’s ten Best Picture Oscar nominees, with Top Gun: Maverick in second at $1.48Billion worldwide. The ten Best Picture nominees have grossed a combined domestic total of over $1.57B as of Tuesday, January 24th and over $3.5 Billion globally.

This week on the Boxoffice Podcast, we assess this year’s crop of Best Picture nominees and distribution stratgies:

All Quiet on the Western Front (Netflix)
“This is one of those titles that I quite enjoyed. I think it made my top 20 in 2022. But it’s the sort of movie that I understand [why it] didn’t get a wide theatrical release. German language, literary adaptation, difficult subject matter. It’s a theatrical movie, wonderful spectacle. I mean, really should be seen on a big screen. But all in all, at least for domestic audiences, I can understand that Netflix didn’t pull a Glass Onion and release [it theatrically].” – Daniel Loria, Editorial Director, Boxoffice Pro


Avatar: The Way of Water
(Walt Disney)
Domestic Total as of 1/24/23: $601.9M
Global Total as of 1/24/23: $2.04 Billion

“I’m mixed on it, but I do think the third act is the best, because it’s when James Cameron gets around to action on a boat–and he’s good at action on a boat.” – Rebecca Pahle, Deputy Editor, Boxoffice Pro


The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Domestic Total as of 1/24/23: $9.4M
Global Total as of 1/24/23: $29.1M

“I love [Martin] McDonough. I did get to catch this in theaters. It’s his first film since his big Oscar-winning Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. The acting is great.” – Chad Kennerk, Analyst, Boxoffice Pro


Elvis (Warner Bros.)
Domestic Total: $151M
Global Total: $287.3M

“Visually, it’s spectacular. Over the past year, we’ve seen several studios re-release newer films or recut films and release them. I think if Warner Brothers put Elvis back in some cinemas for a few weeks, I would go see it. Certainly, there’s been a lot of buzz about the film, about the lead actor. So that’s one that I wish I’d seen on the big screen.” – Rebecca Pahle, Deputy Editor, Boxoffice Pro


Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24)
Domestic Total: $70M
Global Total: $104.1M

“It was one of my favorite theatrical experiences of 2022 actually–getting to see this big epic film with a kick-ass diverse cast, and such an emotional impact there at the end.” – Chad Kennerk, Analyst, Boxoffice Pro


The Fabelmans
(Universal)
Domestic Total as of 1/24/23: $15.1M
Global Total as of 1/24/23: $21.7M

“I think a lot of folks that maybe would have wanted to see The Fabelmans, simply didn’t know when it came out in the theater near them. We had a platform release on November 11th at four locations, which did quite well on a per screen average basis.” – Daniel Loria, Editorial Director, Boxoffice Pro


Tár (Focus Features)
Domestic Total as of 1/24/23: $5.9M
Global Total as of 1/24/23: $7.1M

“I absolutely adore Tár. Cate Blanchett is electric. It’s a hard movie to sit through, I think, at home. Tár of course, the type of movie that isn’t built to be a massive box office hit, a movie that is going to ask uncomfortable questions of its audience. It’s only made around $6M so far, which is fine. Honestly, I’m not sure that Focus Features had lofty expectations for this title, but again, I’m hoping that this Best Picture nomination can give it at least a slightly longer life theatrically.” – Daniel Loria, Editorial Director, Boxoffice Pro


Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Domestic Total: $718.7M
Global Total: $1.48 Billion

“The story of Top Gun: Maverick and its run, how Paramount held on to it for years. They knew what they had. That first screening at Cinema Con, where everyone, including our bosses, were just absolutely blown away by it. Yeah, I’m glad that it got this Best Picture nom, I think it’s well deserved.” – Rebecca Pahle, Deputy Editor, Boxoffice Pro


Triangle of Sadness (Neon)
Domestic Total: $4.2M
Global Total: $22.4M

“One of my favorite satires of this year, a title from a distributor like Neon, that can take a satirical title about modern society and really work it to get that Best Picture nomination. In the early spring corridor, Neon has done this with Parasite already, they do it again with Triangle of Sadness, the Palme d’Or-winning film from Swedish director Ruben Östlund. One of my favorite movie going experiences of the year, and probably the last decade.” – Daniel Loria, Editorial Director, Boxoffice Pro


Women Talking (UA)
Domestic Total as of 1/25/23: $1.3M
Global Total:
*Not yet released internationally

“I’m surprised this movie has barely made over a million dollars since its platform release over the Christmas weekend. Yeah, it’s been at most very, very limited with 150 screens so far. I really do hope this gets expanded with this nomination. The ensemble is unbelievable. And the cinematography there, with a wonderfully desaturated color palette, just works on an aesthetic level, I think brilliantly. This is one of the best crafted American films of the decade. And as we’ve mentioned with 154 screens so far, an expansion, I think, would really do wonders for this movie’s visibility.” – Daniel Loria, Editorial Director, Boxoffice Pro

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