We've all heard the movie commercials spouting out how this movie or that movie is the "#1 movie in america!" But what does that even mean?
The short and sweet of it is, that movie is the highest box office draw for that week or weeks. For example the new Ride Along 2 was the #1 movie in America its first week in the theater but it wasn't as well received with critics and viewers. It only ranked 15% with critics and 50% with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
The #1 movie in America should surely be better than this right?
Not when your metric is money made.
A good example of the dichotomy between what is good and what is perceived as being good is the Oscars.
Did you see the movie that won Best Picture? Need a recap of what was up for Best Picture? Here you go - Oscar Nominees 2016
Personally I hadn't heard of Spotlight before that night. Why is that?
The winner Spotlight was not hailed on TV as the #1 movie in America for possibly two big reasons. It was released the same weekend as Spectre (007) and it was also a limited release. And yet it was given the award for the Best Picture at the most prestigious movie awards ceremony. I don't recall any awards for Spectre.
So while these commercials can be annoying they really hold no water beyond a monetary value. The title of #1 movie in America doesn't hold any weight for Oscar contending. And isn't that what we want for our movies? Big shiny awards?
As always.
Keep reading. Keep learning.
You should watch Spotlight. It's really good. Much like America's big shiny award of the presidency, The oscars are full of political BS. They actually campaign for their movies to win. Movies like "Crash" in 2006 and "The Reader" in 2008 got a lot further in the awards roadshow than they should have thanks to a lot of gifts and drinks bought for the right people.
ReplyDelete