For years, specialty films have counted on an Oscar best picture nomination to provide a major boost at the box office. This time around, analysts are stumped as to how much the top nominees will benefit, considering that the box office has yet to recover from the pandemic.
One good sign — cinemas are finally reopening in New York and Los Angeles, which are traditional hot spots for arthouse care.
There's big caveat, however, with capacity capped at 25 percent in both jurisdictions. This year's class of best picture contenders include eight titles.
Three of those — Mank, The Trial of the Chicago 7 and Sound of Metal — are from streamers so they never even made a major theatrical push.
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