this is a spinoff of post #109 ("if your movie hasn't been at least somewhat widely seen, there's a really good chance it wasn't the year's best picture"). i think any movie that can't make $25 mil in its entire run should be looked at by the academy with extreme prejudice, barring extenuating circumstances (very late or very limited release, very niche subject matter, etc).

by the way, the last best picture winner to make less than $50 million was the last emperor in 1987 ($43.9 mil). before that, it was the deer hunter in 1978 ($49.0 mil). the point of this post is that the hurt locker is not the best picture of the year and an education is just wasting a spot.

1. Avatar - $598.5 million
2. Up - $293.0 million
3. The Blind Side - $238.1 million
4. Inglourious Basterds - $120.5 million
5. District 9 - $115.6 million
6. Up in the Air - $73.5 million
7. Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire - $45.5 million
8. The Hurt Locker - $12.6 million
9. A Serious Man - $9.2 million
10. An Education - $8.8 million