by Nathaniel R
Roma's great competition: Shoplifters, Never Look Away, Cold War, and Capernaum
Dear readers, I've been filled with existential despair this week. I'm not sure how to continue covering the Oscars next year if the Oscars are going to drain all the art out of it by denying all the categories that make cinema, cinema, and announcing them off air. I haven't quite formed my thoughts on this (I expect this upcoming Oscar night to be disastrous) for a complete post but while we still have the more movie-fan friendly categories to look forward to let's continue to talk about them! We've done some research on how the foreign film category tends to fare in the US marketplace that we wanted to share. In addition to being a super high quality roster, this year's Foreign Film list has done well with audiences, too.
Both Poland's Cold War and Japan's Shoplifters have become genuine hits and will certainly outgross the long runs of the last few years worth of most talked about foreign flicks whether or not they were Oscar nominated like The Square, A Fantastic Woman , Elle, The Salesman, and The Handmaiden. In fact, in any year without Roma or each other in it, wouldn't Cold War or Shoplifters be winning this category with ease ?!?
After the jump, let's take a look back at all 95 nominees this century and how well they fared at the box office. Plus lots of trivia just because trivia is fun and will ward off the despair...
Crouching Tiger, the "Titanic" of subtitles pictures, an unstoppable phenomenon
EVERY BEST FOREIGN FILM NOMINEE THIS CENTURY (2000-2018). RANKED BY U.S. GROSS
For those who don't follow this sort of thing, please note that a $1 million gross for a subtitled picture is a pretty major success in the US marketplace given the tiny niche they're allowed to occupy. Anything that goes into 8 figures (the $10 million+ club) is a genuine blockbuster within the US foreign film context.
★ = Oscar winner
* = they outgrossed the film that beat them for the Oscar
† = nominated in additional categories beyond foreign film
🔺 This year's crop!
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Taiwan, 2000) †★ $128.0
Probably the last subtitled film that will ever crack $100 million in the US and as such it feels more like it belongs to the 20th century than the 21st. The box office potential, post-streaming and post theatrical window shrinkage, is much smaller now for foreign films than it was in the second half of the 20th century. Though one can argue with streaming that there is now more access to cinema from around the world so you win a little you lose a little. - Hero (China, 2002) * $53.7
- Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico, 2006) *† $37.6
- Amelie (France, 2001) *† $33.2
- The Lives of Others (Germany, 2006) ★ $11.2
Though a huge arthouse hit, it wasn't the top grosser. That honor went to Mexico's Pan's Labyrinth which grossed a stunning $37.6. This year was one of only three years this century where four of the five foreign film nominees (all but Algeria's Days of Glory) were arthouse hits, cracking a million at US theaters. In no year this century have all five nominees managed to do that... unless you count this season because if the grosses for Roma hadn't been hidden we maybe might have had the first instance in this century of ALL of the nominees becoming bonafide on-the-record hits. No one knows how much Roma grossed beyond Netflix but we assume, given the media coverage and audience enthusiasm that it probably cracked a million though it couldn't possibly have gotten beyond, say, $2 of $3 million given the brevity of the release.
Those were the genuine blockbusters. Now the big hits (as subtitled films go) - A Separation (Iran, 2011) †★ $7.0
Another strong year for the category in terms of audience interest. Only Belgium's Bullhead wasn't a hit in theaters, though it gave us Matthias Schoenaerts so we are eternally grateful. - Amour (Austria, 2012) †★ $6.7
And the third year were four of the five were genuine hits (all but Canada's War Witch) - The Secret In Their Eyes (Argentina, 2009) ★ $6.3
- Nowhere in Africa (Germany, 2002) ★$6.1
- The Crime of Father Amaro (Mexico, 2002) $5.7
- Mongol (Kazakhstan, 2007) * $5.7
- Downfall (Germany, 2004) * $5.5
- The Counterfeiters (Austria, 2007) ★ $5.4
- Amores Perros (Mexico, 2000) $5.4
- Biutiful (Mexico, 2010)*† $5.1
- Cold War (Poland, 2018) *† $4.5 🔺
- Ida (Poland, 2014) †★ $3.8
- The Class (France, 2008) * $3.7
- A Man Called Ove (Sweden, 2016) *† $3.4
- The Barbarian Invasions (Canada, 2003) ★† $3.4 2003 was one of the least popular years ever for this category. ONLY the winner was of interest to American audiences. But part of that was the fault of distributors. Here's where we have a pinpoint example of how terrible distributors sometimes are about striking while the iron is hot. Two of the nominees, The Netherlands Twin Sisters and Sweden's Evil were not released until 2005 in the States (a year and a half after the Oscar race!) and weren't even able to earn $20,000.
- Shoplifters (Japan, 2018) * $3.3 🔺
- Water (Canada, 2006) $3.2
- Wild Tales (Argentina, 2014) $3.1
The following were all hits, grossing over a million in the US marketplace - Tsotsi (South Africa, 2005) ★ $2.9
- The Great Beauty (Italy, 2013) ★ $2.8
- The Salesman (Iran, 2016) ★ $2.4
- No (Chile, 2012) $2.3
- Waltz With Bashir (Israel, 2008) * $2.2 This had the misfortune of being released in a year where there were only 3 animated features nominated in that corresponding category. Had it been a year with 5 it might have ended up our first crossover nominee between the two categories.
- The White Ribbon (Germany, 2009) † $2.2
- The Sea Inside (Mexico, 2004) ★† $2.1
- Un Prophete (France, 2009) * $2.0
- Incendies (Canada, 2010) $2.0
- A Fantastic Woman (Chile, 2017) ★ $2.0
- Monsieur Lazhar (Canada, 2011) $2.0
- Footnote (Israel, 2011) $2.0
- Son of Saul (Hungary, 2015) ★ $1.7
- Capernaum (Lebanon, 2018) *$1.6 🔺
- The Chorus (France, 2004)† $1.5
- A Royal Affair (Denmark, 2012) $1.5
- Remember when Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander were still essentially foreign film stars?
- After the Wedding (Denmark, 2006) $1.5
- Kon-Tiki (Norway, 2012) $1.5
- The Square (Sweden, 2017) $1.5
- Departures (Japan, 2008) ★ $1.4 Outgrossed by two of its competitors which is actually quite rare. Usually the winner is either the biggest hit or, less commonly, the second biggest.
- Toni Erdmann (Germany, 2016) $1.4
- Paradise Now (Palestine, 2005) $1.4
- Embrace of the Serpent (Colombia, 2015) $1.3
- Divided We Fall (Czech Republic, 2001) $1.3 A very rare case of a film doing really well even though it was released after the Oscar competition. As you'll see later in this list, that's a major error commonly made by distributors.
- Never Look Away (German, 2018) *† $1.2🔺
- Leviathan (Russia, 2014) $1.0
- Timbuktu (Mauritania, 2014) $1.0
- Joyeux Noel (France, 2005) $1.0
- In Darkness (Poland, 2011) $1.0
- No Man's Land (Bosnia, 2001) ★ $1.0
- In a Better World (Denmark, 2010) ★ $1.0Outgrossed by two of its competitors which is actually quite rare. Usually the winner is either the biggest hit or, less common, the second biggest. In a Better World was the least successful of this category's winners this century at the US box office.
- The Insult (Lebanon, 2017) $1.0
The next group almost caught on but didn't quite - The Man Without a Past (Finland, 2002) $921k
- The Taste of Others (France, 2000) $891k
- Mustang (France, 2015) $845k
- Lagaan (India, 2001) $835k Insane that this is the only Bollywood musical ever nominated, right
- Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (Germany, 2005) $680k Released several months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Son of the Bride (Argentina, 2001) $625k Released the weekend of the Oscars. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Ajami (Israel, 2009) $622k
- The Hunt (Denmark, 2013) $613k
- Loveless (Russia, 2017) $566k
- Twilight Samurai (Japan, 2003) $559k Released a month after the Oscars. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
Underperformers given the acclaim / awards attention - The Baadher Meinhof Complex (Germany, 2008) $476k Released several months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Land of Mine (Denmark, 2016) $435k
- Omar (Palestine, 2013) $356k
- Zelary (Czech Republic) $330k
- Days of Glory (Algeria, 2006) $320k
- Ellling (Norway, 2001) $314k Released two months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Theeb (Jordan, 2015) $283k
- Revanche (Austria, 2008) $192k Released a couple of months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Broken Circle Breakdown (The Netherlands, 2013) $175k
- Bullhead (Belgium, 2011) $151k
- Tangerines (Estonia, 2014) $144k Released two months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- 12 (Russia, 2007) $125k Released two full years after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- A War (Denmark, 2015) $122k
- Katyn (Poland, 2007) $118k Released one year after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Dogtooth (Greece, 2010) $110k
- Beaufort (Israel, 2007) $102k
Flopped. Barely anyone saw them... - Outside the Law (Algeria, 2010) $96k
- Everybody's Famous! (Belgium, 2000) $81k Released a few months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- War Witch (Canada, 2012) $70k Released one week after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- The Missing Picture (Cambodia, 2013) $52k Released two weeks after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Zus & Zo (The Netherlands, 2002) $49k
- Tanna (Australia, 2016) $46k
- Don't Tell (Italy, 2006) $29k Released a week after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Evil (Sweden, 2003) $15k Released two full years after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- The Milk of Sorrow (Peru, 2009) Released several months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- As It Is In Heaven (Sweden, 2004) $10k Released three full years after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
- Twin Sisters (The Netherlands, 2003) $1k Released several months after the Oscar ceremony. You have to strike while the iron is hot.
The final three films were either not released in the US or grosses were hidden - [TIE] Yesterday (South Africa, 2004), Roma (Mexico, 2018) †🔺, On Body and Soul (Hungary, 2017)
Roma, which tied "Crouching Tiger" for most nominations ever for a Foreign Language Film, delivered Mexico its first win in the category.
SOME TRIVIA ABOUT THE LIST
• There have only been three years this century where 4 of the 5 titles were genuine hits. In no Oscar competition since 2000 have all 5 nominees cracked a million. The three years where almost the whole field were hits with American audiences were 2006 (The Lives of Others), 2011 (A Separation), and 2012 (Amour)... the latter of which is, not so incidentally, the year in which yours truly was invited on CNNi to discuss the category! It's worth noting that in all of those years, some of the titles were up for additional prizes beyond Best Foreign Film, so one might argue that any extra attention rubs off on the whole field.
• The lowest average gross year for this category in the new century is 2013. Italy's The Great Beauty, which won, was the only film to pass a million at the US box office. The average gross was $809k
• In the 20th century six countries ruled the Oscars for foreign language film: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Japan, and the USSR (and in roughly that order). But it's been different story in the 21st century. For the years 2000 through 2018, the top ten countries have been:
01. Germany (8 nominations, 2 wins)
02. Denmark (6 nominations, 1 win)
03. France (7 nominations, no wins)
04. Canada (5 nominations, 1 win)
05. Poland (4 nominations, 1 win)
06. Austria (3 nominations, 2 wins)
07. [TIE] Argentina, Japan (3 nominations, 1 win)
09. [TIE] Mexico, Israel, Sweden (4 nominations, no wins)
Italy, Japan, Russia, and Spain have not been significant forces this century (thus far) and France hasn't won since 1992 over a quarter century ago. Germany's success aside, it's all quite a stark contrast from the first 50ish years of this category.
• Who are the most common movie stars represented these past 19 years of the category? Unless we've missed someone three men are tied having appeared in three nominees since 2000: Mexico's Gael Garcia Bernal (Amores Perros - his film debut, The Crime of Father Amaro both from Mexico and Chile's nominee No), Denmark's Mads Mikkelsen (Danish nominees The Hunt, A Royal Affair, After the Wedding) and Argentina's Ricardo Darín (Argentine nominees Son of the Bride and Wild Tales and the Argentine winner The Secret in Their Eyes). Runners up: a ton of people have shown up in two pictures nominated for foreign language film in this time frame including but not limited to: Javier Bardem (The Sea Inside, Biutiful), Bruno Ganz (Downfall, Baader Meinhoff), Tom Schilling (Baader Meinhoff, Never Look Away), Joanna Kulig (Ida, Cold War), Juliane Köhler (Nowhere in Africa, Downfall), Tryne Dyrholm (A Royal Affair, In a Better World), Shahab Hosseini (A Separation, The Salesman), and Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hero)
• Repeat directors this century in this category? In the past 19 years we've had nine repeat offenders. Oscar has taken a liking to Iran's Asghar Farhadi (2 winning foreign films) who has also been nominated for writing, Poland's Pawel Pawlikowski (2 nominated films / 1 win for Ida) who is up for Best Director this year, Austria's Michael Haneke (2 nominated films / 1 win for Amour) and he has been up for Best Director, too, Germany's Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck (2 nominated films / 1 win for The Lives of Others) and he's in the list this year again with Never Look Away, Russia's Andrey Zvyagintsev (2 nominated films), Mexico's Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu (2 nominated films) who has won multiple Oscars outside of his foreign language films, Denmark's Susanne Bier (2 nominated films), Israel's Joseph Cedar (2 nominated films), and Palestine's Hany Abu-Assad (2 nominated films).