The 'Best Picture' Rarely Is a Box Office Hit

"Anora", a comedy drama telling the story of a sex worker who marries the son of a Russian oligarch, was the biggest winner at the 97th Academy Awards on Sunday. The film, written and directed by Sean Baker, won five Oscars, including the prestigious “Best Picture” category, one for Mikey Madison as best leading actress and a record-breaking four Oscars for Baker’s work producing, directing, editing and writing the dramedy. 

Anora’s triumph was also a win for independent filmmaking over large studio productions. Despite being praised by critics and winning several awards throughout the past year, including the Palme d’Or in Cannes and wins at the Directors and Writers Guilds Awards, the film grossed only $41 million at the box office internationally, making it one of the lowest-grossing Best Picture winners ever.

However, it is quite common for Best Picture winners to be underachievers in the commercial sense. As our chart illustrates, most Best Picture winners in recent years didn’t make nearly as much money as the respective year’s biggest box office hit, illustrating that commercial success and critical acclaim often don't go hand in hand. Prior to last year's winner "Oppenheimer", the last true blockbuster to win the Best Picture award was the third and final part of Peter Jackson’s "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, which raked in $1.1 billion at the box office worldwide and was crowned Best Picture in 2004.