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Bird flying behind Michael Keaton in Birdman

Oscar Winners Cash in at the Specialty Box Office

JamesArthurArmstrong JamesArthurArmstrong As history has shown, winning an Oscar can lead to big business. This past week proved that the trend of Oscar winners squeezing more money out of the paying public isn't slowing down as Birdman, The Theory of Everything, Still Alice and Whiplash pull in strong numbers at the specialty box office.

Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman was the big winner at the 87th Academy Awards taking Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best Cinematography. Those wins helped Birdman make a handsome profit post-Oscars. Fox Searchlight added Birdman to 806 locations where it grossed $1.975 million in 1,213 theatres for a $1,628 per theatre average. Those numbers lifted Birdman over the $40 million threshold after twenty weeks in release.

Best Actress winner Julianne Moore and her film Still Alice also cashed in on their Oscar success. Sony Pictures Classics added 553 theatres to Still Alice's seventh week of release with the film bringing in nearly $2.7 million in 1,318 locations, with an average of $2,045 per theatre, placing it ninth in overall box office. Still Alice's total gross so far stands at just under $12 million.

The Theory of Everything also made the same decision, and tried to make the most of Eddie Redmayne's Best Actor win. Focus added 66 runs after nearly four months in theatres. The feature grossed $649,000 in 611 theatres in its 17th weekend. The number wasn't huge but was a decent effort that pushed The Theory of Everything to just over the $35 million total gross.

Damien Chazelle's Whiplash, which won three Oscars for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (J.K. Simmons), along with Best Editing and Best Sound Editing, was added to more theatres by Sony Pictures Classics grossing $677,249 in 538 theatres, with an average of $1,259. These numbers now mean Whiplash has pulled in over $12.26 million at the box office.

Also, Best Documentary winner Citizenfour remained in the same number of theatres, grossing $23,869, averaging $796 for a $2.7 million-plus total gross.

Posted in The Oscars,

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