Hollywood.com Report Shows That Only 20% Of Oscar(R) Winners Earned Box Office Gold Over 20 Years

Hollywood.com Report Shows That Only 20% Of Oscar(R) Winners Earned Box Office Gold Over 20 Years

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Is the golden Oscar(R) worth his weight at the box office? Hollywood.com ( http://www.hollywood.com/ ) compared each year's Oscar(R)-winning Best Picture to that year's highest- grossing movie to reveal some surprising facts about box office performance and Academy Award(R) winners. After adjusting box office figures to reflect current day ticket prices, Hollywood.com found that in the past 20 years, the highest-grossing films were also the year's Best Picture winner 20% of the time, while only 25% of the best performers at the box office were nominated.

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"Lord of the Rings: Return of the King," "Titanic," "Forrest Gump" and "Rain Man" were the only films that topped the box office during the year that they won the coveted Best Picture award. Only in 1993, when Steven Spielberg directed the highest-grossing film, "Jurassic Park," and the Oscar(R) winner, "Schindler's List," did a single filmmaker top both lists for separate movies. In addition, Oscar(R) winners can always expect healthy box office returns, as all but one Best Picture, "The Last Emperor," grossed at least $100 million. The average Adjusted(1) Gross Domestic Box Office earnings of Best Picture winners was approximately $225 million over the past 20 years, while the average Adjusted(1) Box Office Gross of the highest-grossing film of each year for the same period plus 2005 was approximately $392 million.

"The results of our Hollywood.com report accentuate the quality versus box office debate in terms of filmmaking and consumer appeal. Although Best Picture winners perform very well at the box office, their overall earnings, on average, fall dramatically short of the blockbusters," said Steven Marder, Vice President, Hollywood.com. "And with the exception of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' even a sleeper film that rakes in the bulk of its box office earnings after a noteworthy Oscar(R) campaign and win won't reach the dollar value of a traditional blockbuster."

Below is the list of the past 20 years' Oscar(R) Best Picture winners, the year's biggest blockbuster film, and corresponding raw and Adjusted(1) Gross Domestic Box Office figures:

Hollywood.com Report: Best Picture Oscar(R) vs. Blockbuster Comparison Chart

Best Picture Oscar(R) Winner, Top Box Office Film's
Year Gross Box Office / Gross Domestic Box Office /
Adjusted(1) Gross Adjusted(1) Gross
Domestic Box Office Domestic Box Office
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Star Wars: Episode III--
2005 ? Revenge of the Sith
$380,262,555
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

2004 Million Dollar Baby Shrek 2
$100,422,786 / $100,422,786 $436,471,036 / $436,471,036
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Lord of the Rings: Lord of the Rings:
2003 The Return of the King The Return of the King
$376,853,002 / $388,102,345 $376,853,002 / $388,102,345
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

2002 Chicago Spider-Man
$170,684,505 / $182,435,589 $403,706,375 / $431,500,273
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Harry Potter and the
2001 A Beautiful Mind Sorcerer's Stone
$170,708,996 / $187,297,326 $317,557,891 / $348,415,989
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Dr. Seuss' How the
2000 Gladiator Grinch Stole Christmas
$187,670,866 / $216,221,906 $260,031,035 / $299,590,487
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
Star Wars Episode I--
1999 American Beauty The Phantom Menace
$130,058,047 / $158,988,281 $431,065,444 / $526,952,048
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1998 Shakespeare in Love Saving Private Ryan
$100,241,342 / $132,728,914 $216,119,491 / $286,162,481
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1997 Titanic Titanic
$600,743,440 / $812,770,536 $600,743,440 / $812,770,536
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1996 The English Patient Independence Day
$78,651,430 / $110,503,479 $306,169,255 / $430,160,876
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1995 Braveheart Toy Story
$75,545,647 / $107,847,923 $191,773,049 / $273,772,559
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1994 Forrest Gump Forrest Gump
$329,168,011 / $489,027,116 $329,168,011 / $489,027,116
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1993 Schindler's List Jurassic Park
$96,045,248 / $144,067,872 $356,748,415 / $535,122,622
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1992 Unforgiven Aladdin
$100,003,672 / $149,644,048 $217,042,825 / $324,779,745
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1991 The Silence of the Lambs Terminator 2 Judgment Day
$130,650,794 / $192,717,679 $203,347,436 / $299,949,543
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1990 Dances with Wolves Home Alone
$184,010,809 / $270,143,528 $281,493,907 / $413,257,012
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1989 Driving Miss Daisy Batman
$105,584,081 / $165,153,277 $250,713,403 / $392,173,862
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1988 Rain Man Rain Man
$171,188,895 / $258,657,673 $171,188,895 / $258,657,673
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1987 The Last Emperor Three Men and a Baby
$43,020,223 / $68,326,236 $167,780,960 / $266,475,642
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1986 Platoon Top Gun
$131,755,562 / $220,539,633 $176,650,237 / $295,686,784
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------

1985 Out of Africa Back to the Future
$83,142,343 / $145,440,549 $200,785,744 / $351,233,653
---- ----------------------------- -----------------------------
(1) Adjusted Gross Domestic Box Office figures are derived based on the
total domestic gross of the film, divided by average ticket price in
the year of release, multiplied by 2004 average ticket price ($6.21).
Average annual ticket prices source: MPAA.

Please visit the following link to view a detailed graph of the chart's Adjusted(1) Gross Domestic Box Office figures listed above: http://www.hollywood.com/movies/feature/id/3481630

Please visit this year's Oscar(R) coverage on Hollywood.com, sponsored by Diet Coke(TM), at http://www.hollywood.com/celebs/feature/id/3477779

Check out Hollywood.com's Top Grossing Lists:

Top 25 Highest Grossing Romance Films
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3479872

Top 25 Highest Grossing Horror Films of All Time:
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/feature/id/3466506

Top 25 Highest Grossing Comedy Films of All Time:
http://www.hollywood.com/news/detail/id/3467963

Top 25 Highest Grossing Thanksgiving Film Releases
http://www.hollywood.com/movies/feature/id/3469241

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