THB #300: 9 Weeks to Oscar

Academy members are voting.

The ongoing discussion about “they aren’t going to see awards movies” continues to irk me… especially when the top 3 titles that are likely to be nominated grossed over $1.4 billion domestic.

But even on the the less financially successful end, there is only one really expensive adult movie, Babylon, costing bout $80 million, and yes, it has underperformed. But it also hasn’t landed overseas, where Brad Pitt is a much more powerful draw. The Fabelmans, at $40 million or so, would be considered a moderate spend for its streaming alone. The Banshees of Inisherin is already in profit, if you include post-theatrical, and may well double its box office before all this is over, in spite of being on streaming already. Women Talking was low-budget and has yet to be on as many as 30 screens. Tár probably cost about $20 million to make and is as likely as not to be profitable based on international box office (when it gets there), plus post-theatrical revenues. (As I…