Hollywood is scrambling to make the most from Tuesday's Oscar nominations — make the most money. Late-year releases up for best picture can bring in more than $30 million after nominations, according to a Colby College study.
Those likely to benefit this year:
• Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (expanding to more than 1,600 screens Friday). It will get the biggest boost, says David Davis, an industry analyst with Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin. "It is now likely to gross between $100 million and $120 million in North America. "
• Chocolat (expanding to 1,500 screens Friday). Miramax hopes to get the movie to 2,000 theaters by the Oscar ceremony on March 25. "For an art-house film, this is a great boost," says Arthur Rockwell, entertainment analyst with Rockwell Capital Management. "This is not a wide-audience picture, but with all this publicity, it's obviously going to do better."
Rockwell thinks Traffic, which has grossed $70.9 million, won't benefit as much. It "has had a pretty good run" already, and "it is limited in its appeal," he says.
The other best-picture nominees — Erin Brockovich and Gladiator — are out on video and DVD, where they already are favorites and will continue to be. Brockovich also is opening in one L.A. theater Friday and one in New York Feb. 23 to give academy members the opportunity to see it again on the big screen.