$6,663,508.

(A quick caveat: There are plenty of outliers in our data. Hotel Rwanda, for example, was an MTM that got snubbed for best picture but still made $3.8 million more after the nomination than it did before. The box office has many variables and forces tugging at it, but on average best picture nominees do $6,663,508 better than MTMs.)

This year, the benefit may be even larger than $6,663,508. As mentioned, Slumdog Millionaire has not been in wide release yet. Nor have The Reader, Milk, and Frost/Nixon, which can now expand beyond art houses, thanks to the best picture nod, and really start raking in the cash. Remember, the more theaters, the more money. Benjamin Button looks to be the only movie that has already reached as many theaters as it can, even with the nomination. If you ignore Brad Pitt, it seems that all of the best picture ad campaigns were well worth it this year.

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The data are both daunting and thrilling to play around with. You can find our raw data spreadsheets here. Please do drop us a line if you find any other great trends, or if you’re especially curious about our methodology.

L-R: Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor. Photo Credit: Ishika Mohan
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