Golden Globe-nominated films ranked by box office returns

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December 11, 2018
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Golden Globe-nominated films ranked by box office returns

The Golden Globes, awarded annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are second only to the Academy Awards in terms of prestige, and often are an indicator of which films will sweep the Oscars. Winning a coveted award is a lucrative prospect, giving a film what's known as a box office bump. Producers spend a small fortune promoting films for the Oscars and a relatively small amount on the Globes, despite the fact that victory at the Golden Globes equates to a box office boost of about $14.2 million—more than three times that of an Oscar win. A Golden Globe provides especially good bang for the buck for foreign films and low-budget indies.

This year there are four films nominated for five or more Golden Globes. Stacker has compiled a list of the 22 most commercially successful films of 2018 nominated for at least one Golden Globe in any category. Excluded from the list are films that received nominations but have yet to be released, including "Vice," "Mary Poppins Returns," "Destroyer," "Capernaum," "Never Look Away," "Stan & Ollie," "Girl," "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," "If Beale Street Could Talk," and "Roma."

The 76th Golden Globes Awards will take place on Jan. 6, 2019. Scroll through the list to find out if any of the highest-grossing nominees of 2018 were your favorites.

ALSO: Best Golden Globe-nominated films

#22. Shoplifters

Box office returns: $229,848

Theaters: 14

Nominations: 1

Director: Hirokazu Kore-eda

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film, “Shoplifters,” tells the surprisingly moving story of a makeshift Japanese family of petty thieves. Although the film was a box office smash in the Far East, it grossed only $229,848 in the U.S. “Shoplifters” won this year’s Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and is a frontrunner for the Golden Globe.

 

#21. Mirai

Box office returns: $273,338

Theaters: 69

Nominations: 1

Director: Mamoru Hosoda

This magical, time-traveling tale is the first Japanese animated feature to be nominated for Best Animated Motion Picture. Released in 69 theaters nationwide, it generated $63,077 opening weekend. “Mirai” faces stiff competition, but could be a dark horse, having already nudged out big-budget blockbusters such as “Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch” for the nomination.

 

#20. At Eternity's Gate

Box office returns: $694,989

Theaters: 172

Nominations: 1

Director: Julian Schnabel

At Eternity’s Gate,” directed by 1980s art sensation Julian Schnabel, is the latest in a long line of films about Vincent Van Gogh. Willem Dafoe gives a riveting performance as the tormented Impressionist painter, earning him a nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Drama). Although well received by critics, the film failed to find an audience in the United States, bringing in a paltry $92,856 opening weekend.

 

#19. A Private War

Box office returns: $1,529,541

Theaters: 865

Nominations: 2

Director: Matthew Heineman

A Private War,” the story of war correspondent Marie Colvin, got off to a shaky start at the box office in November, but has since garnered two Golden Globe nominations. Rosamund Pike, as the journalist killed in Syria in 2012, is up for Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), and “Requiem for a Private War,” written by Grammy Award winner Annie Lennox, is in the running for Best Original Song.

 

#18. The Favourite

Box office returns: $1,837,830

Theaters: 34

Nominations: 5

Director: Yorgos Lanthimos

The Favourite”—a witty, 18th-century period piece—is one of three films nominated for five Golden Globes this year. In addition to Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Best Screenplay, the film’s three leading ladies have scored a hat-trick of nominations. Olivia Colman, who plays Queen Anne, is a contender for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy). On-screen adversaries Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone will vie for Best Supporting Actress honors. “The Favourite” had a strong run in art houses and opens in 93 theaters nationwide in this month.

 

#17. Boy Erased

Box office returns: $5,753,382

Theaters: 672

Nominations: 2

Director: Joel Edgerton

In 2016, The Hollywood Foreign Press Association failed to recognize Lucas Hedges for his breakout role in “Manchester by the Sea,” which won him the Oscar. This year, Hedges, as a gay teenager forced into a controversial conversion program by his strict Baptist parents in “Boy Erased,” has been nominated for Best Actor (Drama). YouTube phenomenon Troye Sivan, who has a small role in the film, wrote “Revelation”—nominated for Best Original Song. “Boy Erased” had a strong opening weekend in limited release.

 

#16. Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Box office returns: $6,657,147

Theaters: 555

Nominations: 2

Director: Marielle Heller

Comedian Melissa McCarthy earned a Best Actress (Drama) nomination for her unexpectedly understated performance as celebrity biographer-turned forger Lee Israel in the biopic “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” Richard E. Grant, who plays McCarthy’s friend and enabler, is up for Best Supporting Actor. After a slow opening weekend in October, box office sales have picked up steam.

 

#15. Beautiful Boy

Box office returns: $7,247,035

Theaters: 776

Nominations: 1

Director: Felix Van Groeningen

Previously nominated for his role in “Call Me by Your Name,” Timothée Chalamet is in the running for Best Supporting Actor (Drama) this year thanks to his turn as writer Steve Carell’s meth-addicted son in “Beautiful Boy.” The film raked in a respectable $1,450,661 opening weekend and has grossed $7,247,035.  


 

#14. The Wife

Box office returns: $7,788,490

Theaters: 541

Nominations: 1

Director: Björn Runge

Glenn Close, nominated for 15 Golden Globes over the course of her career, may be adding another statuette to her collection. Praised by critics for her performance as the secretive wife of a Nobel Prize-winning writer in “The Wife,” Close is a contender for this year’s Best Actress (Drama) award. “The Wife” opened in August to modest revenue.

 

#13. Tully

Box office returns: $9,334,930

Theaters: 1,356

Nominations: 1

Director: Jason Reitman

Charlize Theron as an overwhelmed mother of three who forms an unlikely bond with her night nanny in “Tully,” has been nominated for Best Actress (Musical or Comedy). This is Theron’s fifth Golden Globe nomination, having previously won Best Actress honors for her 2004 performance in “Monster.”  

 

#12. The Old Man & the Gun

Box office returns: $10,944,115

Theaters: 1,042

Nominations: 1

Director: David Lowery

Robert Redford has received a Best Actor (Musical or Comedy) nod for his role as real-life career criminal Forrest Tucker, who escaped from San Quentin at the ripe old age of 70. Redford has had a good run with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to date, having won New Star of the Year in 1965, Best Director for “Ordinary People” in 1980, and the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1994. Redford still manages to pull in an audience, with “The Old Man & The Gun” generating $10,944,115 in box office returns so far.

 

#11. Eighth Grade

Box office returns: $13,539,709

Theaters: 1,084

Nominations: 1

Director: Bo Burnham

Director Bo Burnham’s critically acclaimed “Eighth Grade” has picked up a Best Actress nomination, thanks to newcomer Elsie Fisher, who plays an awkward adolescent eager to distance herself from a disappointing middle school experience. Fisher is the youngest Golden Globe nominee this year. The low-budget indie broke the 2018 record for per-theater average gross when it opened in July.

 

#10. Green Book

Box office returns: $15,096,401

Theaters: 1,065

Nominations: 5

Director: Peter Farrelly

Green Book,” starring Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, is one of three films this year to receive five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor for Mortenson, and Best Supporting Actor for Ali. The film, which has met with some controversy, tells the story of an Italian-American bouncer chauffeuring a black classical pianist in the deep South. Based on a true story, “Green Book” secured a spot on the American Film Institute’s 2018 Top Ten list, and was named Best Picture by the National Board of Review.

 

#9. Isle of Dogs

Box office returns: $32,015,231

Theaters: 1,947

Nominations: 2

Director: Wes Anderson

Isle of Dogs,” director Wes Anderson’s quirky stop-animation story about an outbreak of dog flu in Japan, has been nominated for Best Original Score and Best Animated Motion Picture. The film performed well at the box office, but faces stiff competition at the Golden Globes from box office titans “Incredibles 2” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet.”

 

#8. First Man

Box office returns: $44,699,690

Theaters: 3,640

Nominations: 2

Director: Damien Chazelle

High hopes for big-budget biopic “First Man” were dashed when the American Foreign Press Association bypassed it for Best Motion Picture and snubbed Ryan Gosling’s performance as astronaut Neil Armstrong. In addition to Best Original Score, British actress Claire Foy secured a nomination for Best Supporting Actress (Drama) for her performance as Armstrong’s wife, Janet. This is the second nomination for Foy, who won a Golden Globe last year for her turn as Queen Elizabeth II on the Netflix series, “The Crown.”

#7. BlacKkKlansman

Box office returns: $48,271,960

Theaters: 1,914

Nominations: 4

Director: Spike Lee

BlacKkKlansman,” both critically acclaimed and commercially successful, has been nominated for a total of four awards, including Best Motion Picture (Drama). Best Actor nominee John David Washington, son of Academy Award winner Denzel Washington, gives a mesmerizing performance as a black police officer in Colorado Springs, Colorado, who infiltrates the local chapter of the Ku Klux Klan, with the aid of a Jewish colleague, played by Adam Driver, who is up for Best Supporting Actor. Director Spike Lee, who hasn’t received a nomination since “Do the Right Thing” in 1990, is a contender for Best Director.

 

#6. Ralph Breaks the Internet

Box office returns: $122,397,265

Theaters: 4,017

Nominations: 1

Directors: Rich Moore, Phil Johnston

Few sequels have won Best Picture, and to date only one animated film—“Toy Story 2”—has accomplished this feat. This year, two blockbuster-animated sequels are in the running for Best Animated Motion Picture, including “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” Disney’s follow-up to its “Wreck it Ralph.” “Ralph Breaks the Internet” is a good bet for the win, as Disney and Disney/Pixar have won the Animated film category 10 of the past 12 years.

 

#5. Bohemian Rhapsody

Box office returns: $166,002,211

Theaters: 4,000

Nominations: 2

Director: Bryan Singer

Failing to please critics, in part due to the film’s cursory exploration of Freddie Mercury’s homosexuality, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a long shot for Best Motion Picture (Drama). Rami Malek’s electric performance as Queen’s lead singer carries the film, however, and he’s a serious contender for Best Actor honors.

 

#4. Crazy Rich Asians

Box office returns: $173,955,069

Theaters: 3,865

Nominations: 2

Director: Jon M. Chu

Sleeper smash “Crazy Rich Asians,” based on the global bestseller, is up for two awards, including Best Film (Musical or Comedy). Constance Wu, as the upstart American academic poised to marry the scion of a mind-bogglingly wealthy Singapore family, joins the race for Best Actress honors. The highest-grossing romantic comedy of the past decade, “Crazy Rich Asians,” captivated Americans audiences, yet failed to charm the Chinese market, where it brought in a meager $1 million in revenue.

 

#3. A Star Is Born

Box office returns: $194,159,679

Theaters: 3,904

Nominations: 5

Director: Bradley Cooper

Since the original version featuring Janet Gaynor and Fredric March was released in 1837, “A Star is Born” has been remade four times. The latest iteration is the third of those remakes to receive five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture (Drama). Co-stars Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (born Stefani Germanotta) have both been nominated in two categories for their work on the film; Cooper for Best Director and Best Actor, and Gaga for Best Actress and Best Original Song. A solid frontrunner, “A Star is Born” is already a winner at the box office, taking in a cool $42,908,041 opening weekend.

 

#2. Incredibles 2

Box office returns: $608,551,811

Theaters: 4,410

Nominations: 1

Director: Brad Bird

Director Brad Bird was initially concerned that audiences may have become weary of superhero films since the release of “The Incredibles” in 2004. He was wrong: “Incredibles 2” killed at the box office, bringing in over $1,241,084,905 worldwide. Nominated for Best Animated Motion Picture, “Incredibles 2” just might succeed where its predecessor failed, and walk away with the big prize.

 

#1. Black Panther

Box office returns: $700,059,566

Theaters: 4,084

Nominations: 3

Director: Ryan Coogler

A Best Picture win at the Globes would be a jewel in the crown for “Black Panther,” this year’s undisputed box office king. The film shattered several records, becoming the highest-grossing comic book adaptation, as well as one of the highest-grossing films in movie history. Starring Chadwick Boseman as the eponymous super hero, “Black Panther” has been nominated for Best Original Picture and Best Song for Kendrick Lamar’s “All the Stars.”

 

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