I guess some of us aren’t fully appreciating what a huge crossover hit Juno has become, so interested parties are pointing this out by comparing Juno‘s numbers with the four biggest indie hits of recent times — Little Miss Sunshine, Brokeback Mountain, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Sideways — which also became Best Picture nominees.
Juno grossed $3.285 million on 998 screens last night (i.e., Friday the 28th), Sideway‘s best Friday gross was $1.69 million on 1694 screens, Crouching Tiger‘s best Friday gross was $2.3 million on 693 screens, Brokeback Mountain‘s best Friday gross was $2.019 million on 1196 screens and Little Miss Sunshine‘s best Friday gross was $2.028 million on 1430 screens.
The logic is that since Juno is connecting with paying customers in a bigger way than these other four, it deserves consideration as a Best Picture candidate and then some. Juno is a very spirited, agreeable, good-hearted film with exceptional performances up and down, especially from Ellen Page and Jennifer Garner. I respectfully don’t believe it’s good enough to be a top-fiver, but the current seems to be overwhelming views like mine. I’ll be fine if it winds up getting nominated.