'Guardians of the Galaxy' Made Over $100 Million More than Every 2015 Best Picture Oscar Nominee Combined

I know that Oscar nominees tend to be more niche and art house-y than huge summer tentpoles, but this is a bit much. This year's slate of Best Picture nominees is the lowest-grossing since the field was opened up to include a potential ten nominees in 2010. All combined, this year's eight recognized films (American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, The Theory of Everything, Selma and Whiplash) have earned a combine total of $203.1 million so far. Compare that to 2014's highest-grossing film, Guardians of the Galaxy, which has earned $333.1 million domestically. (And counting. Yes, Guardians, which came out in August, is still in 125 theatres across the country. God bless that talking raccoon.)

To be fair, American Sniper only expands to wide release this weekend, Selma and The Imitation Game are still trucking along in the top ten, and Boyhood, Birdman, Whiplash and The Theory of Everything have yet to leave theaters. Still, that $203.1 million is less than half the previous record, when the 2011 Best Picture nominees had earned $519 million by the time nominations came out. (That was the year the winner was a black-and-white silent French film, by the by. The Artist was a crowdpleaser, but it wasn't exactly a crowdpleaser with mainstream appeal.)

Does this mean the Oscars are out of touch with the general American audience their awards show is aimed at? (Don't tell me the Oscars are for highbrow cinephiles--they're not.) Maybe. I'm not saying the Academy should have nominated Guardians for Best Picture--or, God forbid, fifth-highest grossing film Transformers: Age of Extinction, though Paramount did try for it--but maybe a descent from the high horse when it comes to genre films, which the Academy displays a marked bias against, is in order.

Letting in films that wouldn't otherwise make the cut, like 2010 Best Picture nominee District 9, is the reason the field was expanded in the first place. Maybe remember that, instead of nominating endless biopics about white dudes.

(hat tip to Box Office Mojo)