The best holds going into the Oscar weekend in the Top 20 at the box office are, as expected, those films nominated for Best Picture. There are two things that traditionally happen at the box office right before the Academy Awards. First, all the nominated films still playing receive a bump the weekend before and of…

Last chance Academy members — and you know who you are. Voting for the 86th Annual Academy Awards closes today at 5 PM PT, but because of the Academy’s 2-year-old venture into online voting, members who opted in for that option actually have the luxury of time today getting their ballots in. Of course, if you are one…

Interviews by AwardsLine Editor Christy Grosz and Deputy Editor Anna Lisa Raya. Their faces aren't all recognizable, but these Oscar nominees were crucial elements in bringing some of the season's best films to the big screen. From putting the financial elements in place for a visionary director, to leading a team of…

The Oscar nominated best pictures still in the theaters are holding well the last weekend before the Academy Awards. Most are at the end or nearing the end of their runs. Those distributors who re-released their films or upped the number of theaters post-nomination did receive nice bumps to add to their overall cumes…

Warner Bros.’ The Lego Movie will, undoubtedly, take this weekend over newcomers Pompeii from Sony Pictures and the Kevin Costner actioner 3 Days To Kill from Relativity Media. But the interesting thing is that we have four pictures this weekend vying for the No. 2 spot and three of them are from one studio. Sony not…

Each year, Harvey Weinstein has taken time out from his Sundance buying frenzies to do an Oscar-season interview that touches on his Academy hopefuls, all the films he bought in Park City, and politics. Well, January’s Sundance couldn’t have been duller — outside of his multiplatform arm RADiUS, The Weinstein Company…

EXCLUSIVE: Alexandre Desplat earned his sixth Academy Award nomination for his lilting score to Philomena, but is the sixth time the charm for this most in-demand of film composers?  He’s never won even though his previous nominations generally all came with high profile films including two Best Picture winners, The Ki…

The Presidents Day weekend was rather quiet for the Specialty Box Office in a holiday otherwise dominated by Legos. Only one newcomer bothered to report 3-day numbers Sunday, though they were decently solid. China Lion’s Valentine’s offering Beijing Love Story brought out its niche following of audiences who gravitate…

UPDATE, 8:14 AM: Philomena might well be the underdog in the Best Picture Oscar race, but its subject continues to make the most of her moment to stump for transparency in unlocking records for the estimated 60,000 forced adoptions of wedlock babies that were supervised by churches in Ireland and the UK. Late last…

AwardsLine deputy editor Anna Lisa Raya contributed to this story. Alexandre Desplat, the man behind the music of Best Picture Oscar winners The King's Speech, Zero Dark Thirty and Argo, is also the talent behind the musical score for Best Picture nominee Philomena. His Oscar-nominated score, melancholy but also…

Two docs joined the Specialty Box Office ranks this weekend doing OK business in theaters, while holdovers grabbed most of the shine. SPC re-released Tim’s Vermeer after a December qualifying run. The film failed to secure a nomination, but nevertheless bowed fairly well in 4 theaters, grossing almost $58K for a…

Diane Haithman and Cari Lynn are contributing to Deadline’s Oscar coverage. On every film there’s someone who doesn’t get as much credit as they deserve. People in the background who fight for the movie, whose insight or work is crucial to the film, whose efforts start the ball rolling. For instance, for Gravity, it…