LOS ANGELES — For all the love showered upon smaller, more intimate art-house fare, nothing excites Oscar voters — or at least the producers of the telecast — more than having a giant studio hit in the best picture race. This year’s crop of contenders includes two such juggernauts: Universal’s musical spectacle “Wicked” and Warner Bros.’ sci-fi epic “Dune: Part Two,” each of which has grossed more than $700 million worldwide.
But beyond these blockbusters, the rest of Thursday’s nominees — including Neon’s “Anora,” A24’s “The Brutalist,” Netflix’s “Emilia Pérez,” Amazon MGM Studios’ “Nickel Boys” and Focus Features’ “Conclave” — have gone largely unseen by mainstream audiences, at least on the big screen. When it comes to broader appeal, the academy will have to bank on “Wicked” providing the yellow brick road to Oscars ratings, with “Dune: Part Two” delivering its own extra spice.
In total, this year’s best picture contenders earned $877 million at the domestic box office and $1.7 billion at the global box office, a 37 percent drop from last year’s $2.7 billion worldwide haul. That 2024 total was driven almost entirely by the record-breaking success of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer.” Those two films — forever linked in the “Barbenheimer” cultural phenomenon — earned $2.4 billion combined, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the box office earnings of the best picture slate.
The most recent high-water mark for best picture box office was in 2023, when, for the first time, more than one contender grossed over $1 billion globally. “Top Gun: Maverick,” the year’s biggest hit, earned $1.5 billion worldwide, while James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water” was approaching $2 billion before nominations were announced. That field also included midtier successes such as Baz Luhrmann’s “Elvis” and the sci-fi-action hit “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which each earned more than $100 million globally. In total, the 2023 best picture nominees brought in a staggering $4.4 billion worldwide.
