Who actually saw the Oscar movies?

Here is a question I always ask myself about the films that actually win an Oscar each year. Who saw them? Honestly, how many people went to see whatever film won?

It's a question you really never see anyone ask. In fact most avoid that completely. Because Oscars are about what the movie industry and critics think, not the public. If people knew how many (or perhaps few) went to see these films they might have a slightly different view of the Oscars. More akin to a thought, 'The snobs are putting up thier noses at what the masses consider worthwhile.' That doesn't mean that the choices by the Oscar members is wrong (all the time), but it does make it interesting when you put it in perspective.

So let's presume that a national price for a movie ticket is $10. A nice easy number to work with, even if it isn't accurate. How many people have seen the top winning films?

Well let's start at the top. Avatar, which I felt is an over-rated hypefest, has made $720 million. So that's 72 million people, almost 25% of the population. Not bad. (Ranked #1 for the year 2009)

Up - 293 mill (Ranked #5) - 29 million people
The Blind Side - 250 mill (Ranked #8) - 25 million people
Inglourious Basterds - 120 mill (Ranked #25) - 12 million people
Precious - 47 mill (Ranked #65) - 4.7 million people
Crazy Heart - 29 mill (Ranked #95) - 2.9 million people
Hurt Locker - 14.7 mill (Did not rank in the top 100, won best picture) - 1.47 million people

Well that all sounds rather respecatble doesn't it? Well lets look at the top ticket sale films of the year.

We know Avatar got #1
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen - $402 million - 40 million people - Ranked #2* (won top Razzie Awards)
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - $301 million - 30 million people - Ranked #3
The Twilight Saga: New Moon - $296 million - 29 million people - Ranked #4
Up was already covered
The Hangover - $277 million - 27 million people - Ranked #6 - surprise hit
Star Trek - $257 million - 25 million people - Ranked #7
The Blind Side already mentioned
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel - $216 million - 21 million people - Ranked #9
Sherlock Holmes - $206 million - 20 million people - Ranked #10

So the top 7 Oscar movies (including the number 1 in the nation) had a total of 147 million people. Without the number one film, which is usually the case, 75.1 million people.

The top 7 movies, excluding any film with an Oscar, 192 million.

So comparing in every way you would like, Hollywood believes it makes movies that are crap for the masses but puts money in their pockets, and rewards movies that joe average isn't ... smart enough? to crude to understand?

Who knows. But I thought it was interesting to notice that on average Oscar movies are seen half as often by the public.