It's natural to think that a movie that wins the Oscar for Best Picture would mean greater box office success for the film.
The glory and fame surrounding the winner would likely improve box office receipts—especially for a motion picture that's not that well known.
At least that's what filmmakers at Sunday's Academy Awards hope.
However, most of the time, those hopes are not realized. Sure, winning Best Picture is gratifying and adds to a director or producer's resume. And an oft-cited 2001 study from Colby College indicates that Oscar nominations in general (across all categories, beyond Best Picture) appear to help a movie's bottom line. But the Best Picture award itself doesn't necessarily improve things much.
The proof is in the numbers. We've gathered the dollars and cents for the last 10 winners, and they show some surprising results—such as when a nomination can be better than an actual win. (Here are this year's nominees.)
So take a look to see which best film winners got big—and not so big—financial boosts after getting Oscar acclaim.
(Amounts are gross receipts reported by Box Office Mojo)