New stats from Box Office Mojo
Please look closely at this chart: Conviction (#10 last week) slipped slightly to #12, but more important, it increased theater count (up 107% from 565 to 672) while retaining a very high per screen average. (At $2,424 per screen, it holds the number THREE position when you eliminate the 3 films that opened last weekend.)
Now look at the Budget column: Delete Paranormal Activity 2 (which prides itself on its shoestring budget), & you’ll see that, despite the great wealth of female talent on display (including one 2-time Oscar-Winner & a slew of Oscar nominees) Conviction’s budget is well below all others on the list.
And yet… even with these stats, IndieWIRE’s Anne Thompson just started her 2010 Oscar handicapping by referring to Conviction as a film “no one wants to see.”
Is it any wonder that over at The Wrap, Sharon Waxman is already ringing alarm bells: “Women Crowded Out of the Picture in the 2010 Oscars Race” (Her column’s already been picked up by Jezebel, Women’s Media Center, and other Women’s Issues Blogs).
Readers, WE HAVE IT IN OUR HANDS to change the 2011 narrative already being shoved down our throats (even by women like Anne Thompson who should know better). Make a personal commitment to see Conviction NEXT WEEKEND (while you can still can), & if you like it too, then please help me build buzz!
Like everything else in our culture these days, Oscar handicapping is now dominated by sports metaphors, but not to worry: this is a game women can play, & last year, we proved it’s a game we can win!
