'Lion', 'Hidden Figures' lead best picture Oscar nominees in box office surge

Received wisdom has it that a best picture Academy Awards nominee can capture upwards of 30% of its total North American box office in the period between the nominations announcement and the ceremony itself.

Heading into Sunday’s 89th Academy Awards, the stirring true-life family drama Lion leads the pack of nine best picture nominees in terms of percentage gains, while Fox’s Hidden Figures has amassed more in dollar terms.

The Weinstein Company released the film on November 25 last year and as of February 24 it stood at $38.5m in North America, $16.5m of which came since January 24 nominations day.

The $22m gain represents 57.1% of Lion’s overall box office so far.

Fox’s Hidden Figures has amassed $62.2m – more than any other best picture nominee – and earned 42.5% of its $146.2m running total since January 24.

Lionsgate’s Oscar favourite La La Land has also done well, earning $45.3m since it scored a joint record 14 nominations to boost the tally to $135.8m and contribute 33.4% of the total.

While the calculation gives bragging rights to certain distributors, it should be noted that some nominees opened earlier in the year, have completed their run (Hell Or High Water), or have generated the bulk of their grosses by this stage like Arrival, which just crossed $100m through Paramount.

Fluctuations in a film’s theatre count and the scale of the release are also telling factors and are indicated below.

Full list of the nine best picture nominees:

Arrival
Distributor: Paramount
Release date: November 11, 2016
Box office to date: $100.1m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $95.7m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 3,115 /1,221 / 329
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $4.4m, 4.4%

Fences
Distributor: Paramount
Release date: December 16, 2016
Box office to date: $55.7m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $48.8m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 2,368 / 948 /560
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $6.9m, 12.4%

Hacksaw Ridge
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release date: November 4, 2016
Box office to date: $66.8m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $65.5m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 2,971 / 502 / 87
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $1.3m, 1.9%

Hell Or High Water
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release date: August 12, 2016
Box office to date: $27m (finished run on November 17, 2016).
Box office before Oscar nomination: N/A
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 1,505 / N/A / N/A
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: N/A

Hidden Figures
Distributor: Fox
Release date: December 25, 2016
Box office to date: $146.2m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $84m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 3,416 / 3,416 / 2,217
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $62.2m, 42.5%

La La Land
Distributor: Lionsgate
Release date: December 9, 2016
Box office to date: $135.8m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $90.5m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 1,865 /3,236 / 1,587
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $45.3m, 33.4%

Lion
Distributor: TWC
Release date: November 25, 2016
Box office to date: $38.5m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $16.5m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 600 / 1,542 / 1,542
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $22m, 57.1%

Manchester By The Sea
Distributor: Roadside Attractions (for Amazon Studios)
Release date: November 18, 2016
Box office to date: $46.1m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $39m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 1,213 / 1,168 / 393
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $7.1m, 15.4%

Moonlight
Distributor: A24
Release date: October 21, 2016
Box office to date: $21.4m
Box office before Oscar nomination: $15.9m
Theatre count high prior to Oscar nomination; high count since Oscar nomination; count as of February 24: 650 / 1,104 / 455
Box office leap since nomination and percentage of running total: $5.5m, 25.7%.