🍿 Could Theatrical Movies Shut Out Streamers for the Top Oscars? ⇒

Kyle Buchanan for The New York Times:

Should streaming films be completely shut out of the top six Oscar categories, many will call it a comeback for theatrical exhibition […] But even if theatrical movies dominate this year’s best picture field, that victory will come with some complications.

Smaller, less spectacle-driven contenders have struggled to generate box office returns on par with prepandemic levels: “The Fabelmans” has earned a weak $3.6 million so far, while “Tár” and “The Banshees of Inisherin” haven’t cleared the $10 million mark domestically after weeks of release. Just a few years ago, those kinds of films would have at least doubled their current grosses. But the older audiences they rely on simply haven’t returned to theaters with any consistency.

The accepted wisdom that older audiences are the only people who see “smaller” films¹ feels extremely outmoded. Box office numbers don’t lie, of course, but something feels totally off to me about it.

Regardless, it will be interesting to see where things go next. It feels like theaters are getting one more chance before streaming takes over completely.