With ‘Dune’ and ‘Gladiator’ sequels in the mix, are we back to hits winning the top Oscar?

Last Oscar season, Christopher Nolan proved that Academy voters can and will award their top trophy to a major hit: “Oppenheimer,” the director’s moody biopic about the scientist who developed the atomic bomb, ranks as the third highest grossing best picture winner, exponentially more successful at the box office than its recent predecessors. Does that bode well for mass-appeal contenders aiming to follow in Nolan’s footsteps this season, or will voters again choose a film with lower earnings at multiplexes? Backers of some sure-fire hits are hoping for the former. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” has already taken in $714.4 million worldwide, a tally that would put it just behind “Oppenheimer” should it snare the best picture Academy Award. Meanwhile, Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II” debuts next week, surely hoping to replicate or even outpace the Oscar-winning 2000 original, the fifth highest box-office earner among films that have won the top prize. This year’s box-office leader, “Inside Out 2,” has already brought in $1.7 billion worldwide and at the very least will contend for the animated film trophy.