With Box Office Hits Like ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer,’ Will Oscar Ratings Get a Boost?

variety.com:

Barbie” and Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” ignited the summer box office, the blockbusters with twin release dates are bringing populist energy to the Oscars.

Yet the one-two punch of “Barbie” ($1.445 billion globally) and “Oppenheimer” ($957 million), along with a valiant assist from Martin Scorsese’s crime epic “Killers of the Flower Moon” ($156 million), can’t compete with the box office power of last year’s contenders.

Led by “Avatar: The Way of Water” ($2.3 billion) and “Top Gun: Maverick” ($1.5 billion), the 10 films up for best picture in 2023 were collectively the highest grossing in more than a decade, racking up $4.4 billion worldwide.

This year’s candidates for the top prize were still widely seen, with a combined $2.7 billion globally to date. But these impressive hauls are considered outliers and stand in dramatic contrast to Oscars of yore, where there hasn’t been much overlap between box office hits and nominees. “It’s a very strong year by any standard,” says David A.