Oscars 2012: ‘The Help’ has biggest box office among nominees
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Of this year’s best picture nominees, ‘The Help’ has been seen by the most American moviegoers.
The civil rights drama released last August has sold $169.6 million in ticket sales -- more than double the domestic gross of any of the other eight films nominated for the top prize at the Oscars.
The Brad Pitt baseball film ‘Moneyball’ takes the runner-up position with $75.5 million, while Steven Spielberg’s ‘War Horse’ -- a World War I epic still in many theaters nationwide -- has so far collected $72.3 million.
FULL COVERAGE: Oscar nominations
Martin Scorsese’s ‘Hugo’ and Woody Allen’s ‘Midnight in Paris’ each have a tally of around $56 million. The family drama ‘The Descendants,’ meanwhile, just crossed the $50 million mark at the box office last weekend.
The nominees with the least commercial appeal include ‘The Tree of Life’ ($13 million) and ‘The Artist’ ($12 million) -- although the latter, a silent picture, has yet to expand beyond 700 theaters. ‘Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close’ has grossed only $10 million, but it just opened in cinemas across the country last weekend.
When the Academy Award nominations were announced in 2011, the eventual best picture winner ‘The King’s Speech’ had grossed about $57 million. The film featuring Colin Firth ended up with $138.8 million in sales. The year before, ‘The Hurt Locker’ saw far less of a box office boost from its win, collecting an underwhelming $17 million in all.
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